Some of you may recall (the strange affair of the phantom of the opera?  No.
Sorry, silly.)  that years ago I wrote and posted a story called 'Joshua'.
In fact, it was the first story I ever posted.  I wrote a sequal, left the
country, and spent the next year-and-a-half beating my head over what to do
with it.  I finally realized that if I wanted to tell the story the RIGHT
way, I'd have to go back and start over, this time with a better
understanding of the charecters and the plot I was trying to persue.  So I
did.  And here it is, completely re-vamped and (to my mind) a lot better.
Those of you familiar with the original will find some parts exactly the
same, others rearranged and re-worded, and some missing or completely new.

No copywrite infringement intended and all that good stuff.  Million thanks
to Sunny, Cloud, and Eve, who beta-read!  Joshua belongs to me, please don't
take him out to play without permission.  This can be archived at fkfanfic2,
the FTP site, and anywhere else that puts my name on it and informs me.  All
comment, questions, and vampires bearing Halloween candy can be sent to
mistrydder@yahoo.com.  Flames will be used to roast Starbursts.  (Tricky,
but good!)

Joshua 1/?

      The moon was just rising above the trees as the car bumped its way
down the barely visible road.  It pulled to a stop in front of a very old,
small cabin.

      "Are you sure you want to do this, Trace?" Vachon shifted uneasily as
Tracy turned off the car and got out. "It's pretty rustic, and I haven't
been here in years."

      "That's OK," Tracy chirruped as she opened the trunk, "I like rustic."
Vachon sighed and got out to help Tracy with the bags.  Tracy grinned.
After two weeks of chasing the same case in circles, she had leapt at
Vachon's invitation to visit his cabin in upper Ontario.  She looked around.

      "Vachon, this is beautiful land!  How did you get it?"

      "Squatter's rights.  I was living here when the government surveyors
came through.  They gave me 150 acres."

      "Wow, that much?"

      "It wasn't all that much back then.  About the size of a normal farm."
Vachon shouldered the bags and closed the trunk.  "Watch out when you open
the door.  No telling what's living in there."  Tracy gingerly tried the
door.  It stuck for a moment, then opened with a creak and a groan.  She
waited, not sure what to expect, but when nothing came out at her, she
carefully stuck her head inside.  Dust and cobwebs covered everything, and
she could hear the faint squeak of mice under the floor.

      "Maybe we should wait until we clean up a little before putting our
stuff inside."

      "Yeah, sure," Vachon said, dumping the bags next to the door.  "So
where do we start?"  Tracy was at a loss.  Where do you start on what could
be labeled a natural disaster?  She sighed.  At least they had thought to
bring cleaning supplies.

      "Umm, let's start with the floors and walls," she said finally.

      "Sure," Vachon grabbed a broom from the pile by the door and headed
in.  The old floorboards squeaked beneath his boots, but held firm.  More
carefully, Tracy followed.  <Boy, he wasn't kidding when he said this place
was rustic>, she thought, eyeing the open fireplace and shuttered windows.
She rolled up her sleeves and began to sweep the collected dust and dirt
from the back wall.  Soon the flying dust had them both coughing and
sneezing.  They stumbled out the door, gasping for breath.

      After a few moments, Tracy said, "If there's water nearby, we could
tie wet rags over our faces."

      "You're really going to do this, aren't you?" Vachon said with a
pained look on his face.

      "Of course I am!  Now where can I get some water?"

      "There's a small stream behind the cabin," Vachon said, sighing.  He
knew better than to argue.  "The water should be clean."  Tracy hopped up
and headed around the cabin.  Vachon shook his head and smiled.  Once Tracy
had decided to do something, heaven help whoever got in her way.

      Minutes later, they were back inside, sweeping for all they were
worth.  It was still hard to breathe, not to mention see, but two hours
later, Tracy proclaimed the small cabin livable.

      "What are you laughing at?"  She exclaimed as she turned around to see
Vachon chuckling.

      "You.  You have a layer of dirt all over you."  He rubbed a clean
cloth over her forehead and showed her the smudge.

      "Well you're no better.  It'll take hours to wash your hair out!" she
teased.  "Is there anywhere bigger than the stream to wash in?  It's pretty
small."

      "Yeah.  Go downstream and you'll find a pool where this stream joins
another one."

      "Good," Tracy said, snatching up a towel and some bio-soap.  As she
turned to leave, Vachon stood up to follow.  "Just where do you think you're
going?" she demanded.  Vachon gave her a lecherous grin.  "Uh-uh.  You stay
here."

      "You sure about that, Trace?  I'll wash your back," Vachon suggested
enticingly, but to no avail.

      "No.  You can go wash when I come back.  And no following me!"  Vachon
regarded her with amusement.  With a roll of her eyes, Tracy started off,
then turned back as an idea occurred to her.  "Why don't you make a fire
while I'm gone.  I like fires."  <That should keep him busy for a while,>
she thought as she slipped into the forest, headed for the stream.

      Vachon watched her go, then shrugged and set out to find firewood.

      Vachon looked down at where Tracy was snuggled up against him.

      "Not too hot?"  He asked quietly.

      "No," came the answer, muffled by sleepiness and his shirt.  Vachon
looked back at the fire.  Tracy had assured him that it was indeed cool
enough to warrant both a fire and a blanket, especially after a dip in the
cold pool.  Not that he had any objections.  He looked down at Tracy again,
now fully asleep.  The sun had risen half an hour ago, but Vachon could tell
there was still a bite in the air.  Carefully, trying hard not to wake
Tracy, he leaned back until they were both lying on the floor.  He
rearranged the blankets to cover her more securely.  Then, wrapping his arms
around her, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.  He smiled.
<Apricots> he thought, just before drifting off to sleep.

      That evening, after they had finished their respective dinners, Tracy
proposed they go exploring.

      "Exploring?  What for?" asked Vachon.

      "Because I've never seen this place, silly.  And don't you want to see
what's changed in...."

      "Thirty years," Vachon supplied.  "Yeah, I guess."

      "Good."  Tracy pulled on her jacket and picked up a flashlight.

      "What do you need that for?" Vachon exclaimed, trying to look
offended.  "You've got me!"

      "Well, excuse me, Mr. I-can-see-in-the-dark-better-then-a-cat, but
unless you plan on carrying me around, I'm taking it.  I don't want to kill
myself on any roots."  Tracy flipped the switch on the flashlight to make
sure it worked.  Less then a moment later, the flashlight clattered to the
floor as she was swept up by an enthusiastic Vachon.

      "VACHON!!!!  PUT ME DOWN!!!"

      Vachon couldn't help but laugh as he set her gently back on her feet.
"Well, you're the one who suggested it."  Muttering, Tracy bent to retrieve
the flashlight, then looked at the still grinning Vachon.  Somehow, she just
couldn't stay mad at him.  Reluctantly, she allowed a small smile to creep
across her face.

      "Well, what are you standing there for?" she demanded. "Let's go."

      The night was clear and beautiful.  What stars Tracy could see through
the trees shown like pinpoints of fire, and the air was so perfect it seemed
it would shatter if she spoke too loud.  Quietly, she had questioned Vachon
about everything they saw, from the rocks to the plants and animals.  Now
they walked leisurely back toward the cabin, not speaking, just enjoying
each other's company.  Through a break in the trees, Tracy could see a small
clearing, and at the edge of the clearing were some beautiful white and pale
blue flowers that

Vachon had said only bloomed at night.

      "Wait here a second," she whispered, pulling away from Vachon.  He
nodded and watched as she walked to the clearing.  At the edge, Tracy pulled
up short and peered into the center of the small area.  She looked back over
her shoulder.

      "Vachon, come here," she called softly.  Puzzled, he made his way to
where she stood.  There, in the middle of the clearing, a boy was sitting,
clutching his knees and rocking back and forth.  They could hear small
whimpering noises coming from him.

      "He must be lost," Tracy said, starting forward.  Suddenly, Vachon's
hand closed on her wrist like a vice, yanking her backwards.  Too shocked to
protest, Tracy just stared up at him.

      "Stay here," he hissed.  He walked carefully to where the boy sat.
Kneeling down in front of him, he grasped the boy's chin in his hand and
gently forced his head first right and then left, peering at him intently.
Tracy gasped.  In the dim light of the half-moon, she could see crimson tear
tracks running down his face.  Without looking up, Vachon called to her,
"Tracy, go to the cabin and get some of my supplies.  Three bottles should
be enough."

      Numbly, Tracy nodded and turned, then suddenly started running toward
the cabin.  Bursting in, she threw open the old suitcase Vachon had brought
and snatched up three of the bottles inside.  Without bothering to close the
door behind her, she raced back to where Vachon was waiting.  She stopped
abruptly at the edge of the clearing, unsure of what to do.  Vachon walked
over to her and took the bottles.

      "What's wrong with him?" Tracy asked anxiously.  Vachon shook his
head.

      "I'll explain later."  Then he went back to the boy in the center.
Uncorking one of the bottles, he held it out, but the boy didn't even
respond.  After a few more unsuccessful tries, Vachon grabbed the boy's hair
and yanked his head back, pouring the blood into his mouth. Coughing and
sputtering, the boy shoved Vachon away.  Vachon let him, and a moment later,
he snatched the bottle from Vachon's hand and began to drink as fast as he
could.  Two and a half bottles later, he finally sagged backwards onto the
grass.  Taking a deep breath, he shut his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

      Tracy secured the shutters against the rising sun as Vachon carefully
lay the boy on a folded quilt.  Tracy walked over and looked down at the
sleeping form.  Now that she could see him better, she could tell that he
was less a child and more a youth.  In his early teens, he was just starting
to get the gangly look that comes from too much growth in not enough time.
She scrutinized him more carefully.  He was a good-looking boy, with
sandy-blond hair and small features.  Tracy could see that his tanned skin
was already fading into an almost translucent pale.

      "So what happened?" she asked quietly, looking at Vachon.

      He sighed.  "It's called first hunger.  When a new vampire first wakes
up, they're ravenous, out of control.  They can be very dangerous."

      "But he wasn't even moving."

      Vachon shook his head and glanced at the sleeping form.  "I don't
know.  Maybe there's something wrong with him."

      "Wrong?  Like what?"

      "How should I know?"  Vachon shrugged helplessly.  "We'll have to ask
him when he wakes up."

      Tracy nodded, then looked confused as a thought occurred to her.  "So
who turned him into a... vampire?" she asked hesitantly.  "And why wasn't
he... or she-- whatever-- with him?"

      "Who knows?  Tracy, there are a lot of things that could have
happened.  Maybe they didn't know they had brought the kid across.  Or maybe
they just didn't care.  It happens."

      "But he could have died if we hadn't found him!" Tracy insisted,
clearly upset by the thought.

      "Yeah, he probably would have.  Like I said, it happens.  Life isn't
fair,

Trace," Vachon gave an ironic smile, "and neither is death."

      Tracy let out an exasperated sigh. Vachon put his arms around her,
comforting her as best he could.  "Look at it this way.  We did find him, he
is still alive, and we're going to do our best to keep him that way.  I'd
say the kid just got a lucky break."  Although still scowling, Tracy nodded,
confident that Vachon would know what to do.  Vachon, on the other hand, was
not so sure.

            <Oh, man.  What did I just get myself into? >



Joshua 2/?

      The air was cooling with the onset of night before the boy's sleeping
form stirred.  With a sigh, he sat up on the makeshift bed and looked
blearily around.

      "Hey," Tracy called gently from where she sat next to the fire.  "Glad
to see you're finally awake."

      "Yeah," he mumbled, then shook his head and took another look at his
surroundings.  "Where am I?"

      "In my friend's cabin."

      H peered blearily at Tracy.  "Who are you?"

      "My name's Tracy Vetter."

      "Tracy.  Yeah.  What am I doing here?"  The boy still seemed a little
vague, but more awake with every moment.

      "We found you alone in the woods and brought you here. What's your
name?"

      "Josh.  Joshua Carter.  How long have I been out for?"

      "All day.  It's just after sunset."

      "Oh, no!  My folks are going to kill me!  I've got to get home!"
Joshua cried as he jumped up and headed for the door.

      "Not so fast, kid," Vachon was coming in the door with a load of
firewood and caught Joshua by the arm.  "You're not going anywhere yet."
Joshua pulled his arm away and began backing away from Vachon.

      "Wh-why not?  What's going on?" he asked nervously.

      Vachon chuckled.  "Nothing, kid.  Calm down," he said in what he hoped
was a reassuring manner.  "We just want to ask you a few questions, that's
all." He walked over to the fireplace and dropped the wood.  Leaning over,
he quietly spoke to Tracy.  "I don't think he realizes what's happened to
him."  Tracy nodded in agreement.  He looked back at Joshua.  "What's the
last thing you remember, kid?"

      "Umm..." Joshua thought for a moment, then just shrugged, looking
confused.

      "OK," Vachon said, at a loss.  He ran a hand through his long hair.
"OK, let's try something else.  When was the last time you ate?"

      "Last night, I guess," Joshua said with a shrug.  He couldn't see
where this was going.  "We had spaghetti."

      "OK.  Starting from there, tell me everything you can remember."

Joshua took a deep breath and began.

      "Well, I helped Mom clear the table, and then I went upstairs to do my
homework.  At eight, I watched the game on TV, and then I went to bed.  I
think..." he paused as the memories returned.  "Or... no, I think I went
out.  With my friends."  He nodded, now, more sure of himself.  "Yeah.  We'd
been talking about it all week, how we were going to do something... but..."
He wrinkled his brow and shook his head.  "I don't remember.  I don't know--
this is weird.  I can't remember anything."

      "Do you remember what you and your buddies were going to do?"

      "No.  I mean, I should, but... geez.  I mean, I remember being excited
and everything, and a little nervous-- I'd never snuck out without my
parent's permission before, but I figured it was all right, because if I
*had* asked them, they would have said 'OK'."  Vachon let Joshua ramble for
a little while, working through his confusion.  Finally, he stopped and
shook his head in bewilderment.  "I just can't remember.  I don't get it."

      Tracy and Vachon looked at each other.  Vachon cleared his throat.  He
hated doing stuff like this.  "Um, kid, I've got some news for you."  Joshua
looked at him expectantly, as though he could solve the mystery of his
missing memories. Vachon grimaced.  "I can't tell you exactly what happened,
since I wasn't there, but I've got a pretty good guess, because whatever it
was had some pretty... permanent consequences."  Joshua now looked worried.
'Permanent consequences' didn't sound like a good thing.  With another
glance at Tracy, Vachon sighed.  "I hate to tell you this, but you're a
vampire."

      Silence.  Several mortal heartbeats passed before Joshua screwed up
his face in confusion and disbelief.  "Huh?"

      "I know, it's hard to believe," Vachon went on, "but it's the truth.
I've been one for nearly 500 years."

      "Whoa, Whoa, wait."  Joshua regarded Vachon askance.  "Vampire?
You're crazy.  Vampires don't exist."

      "Um.  Actually, they do," Tracy put in.

      "You're BOTH crazy!!" Joshua concluded.  "And I am out of here!"  He
jumped to his feet and stalked determinedly to the door.  There was a breath
of air and Vachon materialized in front of him, blocking his exit.  Joshua
fell back a step or two, shock clear on his face.  "How-- how did you do
that?" he asked weakly.

      "I told you, boy," Vachon growled at him, presenting the vampire's
visage in full, "I've been a vampire for a long time.  I know what I'm
talking about."  Panicked, Joshua backed up so quickly that he tripped and
fell to the ground.  Tracy jumped to help him, but Vachon warned her away
with a sharp look and an outflung hand.  He shook off the change then and
looked back down at the frightened youth.  "Sorry, but you have to
understand what's going on.  If you leave here alone, you'll be dead by next
nightfall."

      Joshua stared at the man who, a moment before, had been a creature
straight from his nightmares.  "Why?" he managed to ask.

      Vachon crouched down to put himself more on Joshua's level.  "Well,
let me ask you: where will you go?  Home?  What would your family do when
they find out?  Do you know how to get food?  Protect yourself?  Find
shelter when the sun comes up?"

      "But-- I can't be-- it's not possible--" Joshua pleaded, still unable
to accept what he was being told.  Faster than he could see, Vachon whipped
his hand out and struck him on the side of the head, sending him sprawling.
Without thinking, Joshua reacted, something wild and angry rising within
him.  He jumped to his feet with a snarl, then, realizing that it had come
from *him*, leapt backwards, clapping one hand to his mouth. There he felt
twin points that hadn't been there before.  Slowly, he drew his hand away
from his mouth and stared at it as though not sure it was really his.  Then,
staring at Vachon, he began to shake his head violently, backing up until he
bumped against the rough wooden wall of the cabin.  "No!  This isn't
happening!  It's not!  I can't be--" he choked on the word again.  "NO!"
Neither Tracy nor Vachon could think of anything to say as Joshua's face
crumpled and he slid down to sit against the wall.  He buried his face in
his hands.  "This can!
't be happening!  It can't!  It's not possible!"  He gulped and took a
shuddering breath.  "Why is this happening to me?" he moaned.  "I don't want
to be a vampire!  I want to go home!"

      Vachon went and knelt next to the unhappy boy and rested a hand on his
shoulder.  "I know, kid.  But you can't.  Once you're here, there's no going
back, no matter how much you want to."  Joshua didn't answer, but drew his
knees up to his chest and began to cry.

      No one said anything for a long time.

      Joshua fell asleep curled up in the corner of the cabin, too exhausted
to do anything else.  Once Vachon was certain he was asleep, he joined Tracy
next to the fire.

      "So what now?" she asked with an aggrieved glance across the room.

      "I guess we keep him until he's a little stronger, then take him back
to

Toronto with us," he said slowly.  "I have enough blood to keep him fed for
three days, tops."  He shook his head and regarded Tracy solemnly.  "Trace,
you have to stay away from him.  Don't touch him, don't get within arms
reach of him.  If I don't let him get hungry, there shouldn't be a problem.
But sharing a cabin with a someone that young isn't exactly safe."

      Tracy nodded.  Silence reigned for a few minutes before she spoke,
nervously.   "What usually happens when a... young vampire... is abandoned?"

      "We call them fledglings, Trace.  What happens all depends on the
person.  About two-thirds of the fledglings brought across don't even know
who their master is.  Maybe half of them survive.  They muddle through as
best they can, make friends with other vampires who can show them what do
to, and figure things out as they go along.  The other half make stupid
mistakes or just can't handle what's happened to them, and they die."
Vachon kept his voice carefully matter-of-fact.  "Sometimes, when one is
very lucky, they find someone willing to take them in, teach and care for
them until they are old enough to survive on their own."  Tracy looked at
him hopefully.

      "Then you-" she began.

      "No, Trace."  He looked at her firmly.  "I'm not interested in the
job.  Among other things, fledglings are really expensive, and I'm just a
poor, lazy slacker, remember?" he finished with a slight smile.

      Tracy didn't like that explanation.  "Vachon, you--!"

      "Whoa, whoa.  Trace, listen to me.  I said that's one of the reasons.
There are a lot more."  She stared at him expectantly, and he sighed.
"Look, it's really too complicated to go into, OK?"  Tracy's scowl only
deepened.  Vachon rolled his eyes and relented, letting a some of his
frustration show.  "All right.  You want to know the big reason?  Because
the kid is a walking target!  I mean, I'm no fledgling; I've got a few
centuries on me, I can take care of myself.  Even help Urs out when she
needs it.  But it's gonna take someone older and more powerful than me to
keep this kid alive!"  Tracy was about to protest when Vachon held up a hand
to stop her.  "But..." he continued, "I do have a couple of ideas.  And I
know someone I just might be able to... persuade."  <If he doesn't kill me
first. >

      When Joshua woke up, he and Vachon were alone in the cabin.

      "Where's Tracy?" he asked once he was awake enough to remember where
he was.

      "Out getting firewood.  We're running low.  Here."

      "Is that... blood?" Joshua asked, shying away from the proffered
bottle.

      "Yeah," Vachon answered with mild disbelief.  What else was it
supposed to be?

      Joshua stared at it for a moment, then shook his head.  "I'm not
drinking it."

      Vachon raised his eyebrows at him.  What was this kid, crazy?  He had
to be hungry.  "What?  It's blood.  It's what we drink."

      "I don't want any,"  Joshua murmured, though he did not take his eyes
from the bottle.

      Vachon considered himself a patient man, and he didn't like to spend
too much energy on unimportant matters, but he'd had enough.  He leaned
forward until he was inches from Joshua's face.  "I don't care what you
want, you're going to drink it!" he stated unequivocally.

      Joshua drew a sharp breath, his attention temporarily wrested from the
bottle.  "Why?" he managed to ask after a moment.

      "Because you're a danger to Tracy if you don't," Vachon hissed
bluntly.  "Because if you haven't fed by the time she gets back, you'll be
at her throat the instant she steps through that door.  And you won't even
realize it until it's too late."  He was gratified to see Joshua's horrified
look at his pronouncement.  "Bottled blood is one thing," he explained less
harshly.  "It's just food.  Even a starving man can resist food, if he
really wants to.  Being around a living mortal-- hearing their heartbeat,
smelling the hot blood-- is completely different.  There are vampires
decades older than you that can't be trusted around mortals when they're
hungry."  Joshua didn't answer.  "You wouldn't want that, would you?"
Vachon prompted.

      "No!!  Of course not!  I just... I don't want to be a vampire!  I
never wanted to be a vampire.  Some of the other kids always thought it
would be cool, like when we were messing around, pretending, but I didn't.
And I still don't.  I hate being cooped up in here all day, I hate not being
able to eat real food, and I..." his voice cracked and he swallowed, "I miss
my family."

      "I know, kid.  And sometimes it's not easy.  But it's not all bad,
either.  Think of all the things you can do now that you couldn't do before.
You have a power that mortals can only dream of!  And you have forever to
enjoy it."

      Joshua scowled fiercely.  "Yeah, great," he spat.  "I get to spend the
rest of eternity looking like a teenager."  Vachon looked surprised for a
moment then began to laugh.

      "Y'know, that's something I hadn't thought about.  You have my
sympathies, kid."  He was silent for a moment, letting Joshua decide what he
was going to do.

      "I don't wanna," he said again, but without venom.

      "Yeah.  But you're kind of stuck with it, so you might as well drink."

      "If I have to."

      "Tracy?  Do you have a mirror?"

      Tracy was startled by the question.  Thought they had talked a little
before, Joshua had said nothing for over an hour.  She nodded.  "Sure.
Why?"

      "I just want to see what I look like.  See if I look any...
different."

      "OK."  Tracy went to her suitcase and began to rummage around.  This
was the first time Joshua had really acknowledged that something _had_
happened to him.  "Here," she said, handing the small mirror to him.

      Joshua stared at his reflection, and saw his own face staring back.
It was strange-- for some reason he'd expected to see something different.
But no, there he was, paler than he remembered, but still him.  <Yeah,> he
thought sarcastically, <I make a great vampire.>  Everyone said he looked
just like his mother, which wouldn't have been so bad, except that his
mother was what people referred to as 'small': short and on the thin side,
with light, fine features and broad cheekbones.  When his eighth grade class
had done a modified production of A Midsummer's Night's Dream, the director
had cast him as Puck, right off the bat.  He'd always hoped he'd grow out of
it, at least a little.  His father had supposedly been tall and dark, but
his genes didn't seem to play any part at all in Joshua's life.  In fact,
the only legacy he had of the man was a short scar next to his right eye.

      Joshua considered the mirror again. Really, he was relieved.  He
wasn't sure what he would have done if he'd found out he looked different.
He didn't _want_ to be any different than before, and it would have been
just one more proof that his life as he knew it was over.  <Not that it
isn't anyway.>

      The cabin was quiet when Vachon entered.  "How is he?" he asked,
gesturing to Joshua.  The boy was asleep with his back to the corner of the
cabin, the same place he had been when Vachon had left.  In an effort to
conserve supplies, he had begun hunting for his meals.  He didn't much like
animal blood, but it kept him alive, and Joshua needed the human.

      "Fine.  He didn't really move from that spot, but we did talk a lot.
Or at least, I did.  He doesn't much like to talk about himself.  I mean, he
seems perfectly content to listen to me ramble for hours about my life and
people I know, but he gets all flustered when I ask him questions back."

      "Some people are like that," Vachon responded calmly.  "They don't
like to give out personal information."

      "So what should I do?"

      "Humor him.  Trace, just because he's a vampire doesn't mean he's
going to act any different from any other kid.  If he doesn't want to talk
about himself, don't push him.  He'll open up when he's ready.  Did he drink
anything?"

      "He said he wasn't hungry."

      Vachon paused, glancing back at the sleeping form.  "I'll bet he did,"
he replied non-committally.




 Joshua 3/?

     The faint glow of the coals in the fireplace was just enough for
Joshua's eyes.  He had woken abruptly, acutely aware of his surroundings.
It was daytime, he knew that-- he could feel the deadly sunlight pressing
down on the roof and walls of the cabin, seeking entry into the safe haven
of darkness.  It was a predator, the sun, patiently waiting for its chance
to devour him.

      But the cabin was sturdy and tight, and would hold off the deadly
light until darkness overtook the world.  So his senses turned to the area
around him, to what had woken him.

      A slow, steady thrumming filled his ears.  It came from the other end
of the room and was accompanied by the gentle sound of quiet breath.  He
rolled silently to his feet and made his way towards its source, ignoring
the other figure as he passed by it.  His goal-- his prey-- was marked by
the heat it poured into the area around it, making it stand out in the
otherwise cool surroundings.

      A strong hand wrapped itself around his ankle and yanked him from his
feet.  Another hand over his mouth stifled his outraged cry as he began to
fall.  The hands bore him up, setting him on the floor without a sound.
Then the one over his mouth moved, and was replaced by the smooth lip of a
bottle.  The blood was cold and lifeless, but it stilled his hunger.

      Vachon watched warily as Joshua's eyes dimmed from red to gold, then
to their normal hazel, and awareness returned.  The boy seemed confused as
he set the bottle down, but the realization set in quickly as he glanced
around the cabin.  Joshua's eyes went wide as he comprehended his actions,
and understood that he would have killed Tracy if Vachon had not intervened.

      Joshua drew breath to scream or yell, but Vachon clamped his hand back
over the youngster's mouth.  The eyes above the hand were wild with terror.
<This kid's about to go ballistic,> Vachon realized.  This was not the time
or the place for it-- someone was going to get hurt, and he couldn't have
sworn who.

      "Joshua.  Josh, look at me."  The words were soft, almost inaudible,
but there was no mistaking the command.  Joshua did, his eyes silently
pleading that Vachon do something.  "I want you to listen to me very
carefully."  Hypnotizing a fledgling was different, but no harder, than a
mortal.  He felt Joshua relax as his mind gladly surrendered, eager to
escape the madness his world had suddenly become.  "You're going to go back
to sleep and forget this ever happened.  All you'll remember is that you had
some sort of bad dream, but you won't remember what.  Do you understand?"
Joshua nodded.  Vachon carefully removed his hand and touched Joshua's
forehead.  "Sleep."

      Joshua slept.

      "OK, everyone ready?  Did we forget anything?"

      "Let's go, Tracy."  Vachon couldn't wait to get back to Toronto and
his favorite haunts.  As much as he liked Tracy and as fond as he had grown
of

Joshua, the Spaniard wasn't sure he could take one more day in an enclosed
space with them both.  Somehow a cabin that had been plenty big for two was
far too small for three.

      Joshua sat silently in the back, thinking.  About nothing.  About
everything.  About leaving, and about his family.  About his life and his
future, whatever that was going to be.  It had been explained that he would
stay at Vachon's place until someone could be found who would take care of
him.  He supposed he needed it-- he wasn't exactly ready to live on his own.
But his life was still so upside down that he wasn't sure what to think or
to expect.  Part of him felt nothing but numb.  He stared unseeing as the
scenery rushed past the windows.

      "Yeah, Nick Knight. I'm either in bed or incommunicado.  Leave a
message." BEEP

      "Knight, it's Vachon.  We gotta talk.  Meet me at my place at 8:30
tonight."  Nick frowned.  What could Vachon want?  Tracy had been at work
the night before, and she seemed fine.  Maybe not as perky as she usually
was, but certainly not hurt in any way.  He glanced at the clock.  7:45.
<Well, I guess I'm going to find out. >

      The church was mostly dark when Nick pulled up, but he could see a
little light coming from the back.  He let himself in and made his way to
where Vachon had set up residence.

      "Hey, Knight, nice to see you." Vachon said with a nervous smile.
Nick regarded him suspiciously.

      "What did you need to talk to me about?"  In answer, Vachon gestured
across the room to where Nick could see a boy stretched out on a couch,
asleep.

      "That's Joshua Carter," he explained.  "Tracy and I kind of stumbled
across him in Upper Ontario."  Nick looked at the boy again.  A fledgling,
very young.  He nodded and Vachon continued.  "He was in shock or something,
it was a pain getting him to feed.  Anyway, he's not going to survive
without someone to take care of him-- he's really not vampire material-- but
I promised Tracy that I'd try to find someone.  I didn't mention you!" he
hurried to add as Nick glared at him.  He continued in a low voice.

      "But, honestly, I can't think of anyone else.  This kid hates the idea
of being a vampire about as much as you do.  I just can't see handing him
over to one of the other members of the Community."  Nick took a long look
at Joshua, then Vachon.

      "No."

      Vachon blinked in surprise at the outright refusal, but rallied
gamely.  "C'mon Knight, why not?  He's a nice kid, real smart.  You'll like
him."

      "Absolutely not."  Nick turned to glare at Vachon.  "I've spent the
last few centuries trying to become mortal again.  Taking on a fledgling
would mean giving that up, and I'm not about to!"

      "Really?"  The word was a challenge, unusual for Vachon, but he was
running out of ideas.  "I thought your doctor friend was trying to find some
scientific way to bring you back across.  If she ever does, this kid would
be happy to join you.  Meanwhile, you can keep him out of trouble."  By now,
Vachon was almost pleading.  He didn't have a backup plan, and really didn't
want to tell Tracy it hadn't worked.  Nick seemed to waver a little, looked
at the young boy for a long moment, then shook his head decisively and
turned to leave.

      "Sorry.  Find someone else."

      Vachon took a deep breath and played his trump card.  "How about
LaCroix?  I'm sure he wouldn't mind a smart kid like Joshua."  He paused as
Nick stopped suddenly, stiffening. Then he continued more softly.  "Of
course, it might be a little hard on Josh."  Nick whirled around and stalked
back to where Vachon stood, stopping centimeters from his nose.

      "You wouldn't," he hissed venomously.  Vachon held his ground.

      "I would."  As Nick's eyes began to tinge with gold, Vachon barely
resisted the urge to flee.  He hoped desperately that he hadn't overplayed
his hand.  Finally, Nick stepped away from him, glaring.

      "I'll try to help you find someone else, but that's all I can offer.
Take it or leave it."

      "I'll take it," Vachon said grudgingly.

      "Fine.  And if you so much as MENTION this kid to LaCroix..."  Nick
didn't finish the sentence, didn't need to.  Vachon just nodded.  Nick
turned to leave, but Vachon called him back.

      "Knight!  Look, this isn't going to be easy, you know that.  And I
can't drag the kid all over the country with me-- he wouldn't hold up.  Can
you look after him the nights you're not at work so I can go out?"

            "Yeah.  Bring him by tomorrow."





Joshua 4/?

      Joshua stared up at the imposing building with trepidation.  <Who
would live *here*?> he wondered.  It looked like the set for a horror movie
or something-- a monster was just waiting to happen.  Vachon obviously
didn't share his unease; the vampire walked up to the door and hit the
buzzer.

      They waited a few seconds before a voice came over the intercom box.
"Yeah?"

      "It's us, Knight.  Open up."  The buzzer sounded and Vachon hauled the
door open.  "Go on up," he prompted Joshua, motioning him through.

      Joshua glanced at the dimly lit elevator and back at Vachon.  "You're
not coming with me?" he asked uneasily.

      "I've got work to do, kid.  That's the point."

      "But...."  He glanced around, looking for a reason for Vachon to stay
with him, but couldn't come up with one.

      Vachon rolled his eyes.  "All right, all right.  I'll come up for a
few minutes."

      Joshua wasn't sure what he expected to see when the elevator door
opened-- something like the church, maybe-- but whatever he expected, he
didn't see it.  The huge loft was clean and spacious, and while there wasn't
much furniture, what there was, was obviously high quality and comfortable.
More, there were enough electronics to keep a gadget-freak happy for months.

      "Are you sure this guy's a vampire?" he whispered up at Vachon.

      Vachon quirked a smile.  "Yeah.  I'm sure."

      "Come on in," a friendly voice invited, and Joshua turned to find it's
owner.  Well, if the place didn't look like a vampire's home, it fit,
because the man he saw standing in the kitchen certainly didn't look like a
vampire.  Except that, somehow, Joshua would have known without a doubt that
he was, even if he hadn't been holding a green bottle of dark liquid.  The
man smiled at him, but Joshua couldn't bring himself to return the gesture,
and dropped his gaze instead.  Vachon, on the other hand, crossed the
kitchen with careless familiarity.

      "Hey, Knight.  Got anything decent to drink?"

      "In the fridge," Nick said with a wave of his hand, then went back to
pouring his own drink.

      Vachon rattled around in the refrigerator for a few moments, turning
bottles around to read the labels.  "Hey, this is all uncut," he protested.

      "I didn't get it for you."  He turned back to the nervous-looking teen
by the elevator.  "Would you like something to drink?"

      Joshua shook his head, then swallowed and said "No, thank-you," very
quickly.

      "Oh, right.  Knight, that's Joshua Carter.  Josh, this is Nick Knight,
the guy I told you about."

      "Nice to meet you," Nick smiled again, this time crossing to where
Joshua stood and extending his hand.  The boy shook his hand, still not
smiling.  "If you aren't hungry, why don't you see if you can find something
to watch on TV?"

      "Okay."

      The two older vampires watched him go into the main part of the loft
and fiddle with the remote control, figuring out which buttons did what.
Nick raised his eyebrows at Vachon, who shrugged.  "Go easy on him, Knight,"
he said in a low voice.  "This whole 'I'm a vampire' thing has him scared
out of his wits.  He'll be fine once he gets used to you.  Talk to him,
you'll see."  With that he tossed down a glass of blood and made his exit.
"Have fun!" he called over his shoulder as the door clanged shut.

      Joshua turned around, startled, his eyes darting between the door and
his host.  Nick shook his head with a rueful smile.

      "That's Vachon for you."

      Joshua licked his lips nervously and looked away as he spoke.  "I
don't know much about him, really."

      "To be honest, neither do I.  I met him in passing about 300 years
ago," Nick said with a shrug,  "but it's not like we're good friends or
anything."

      "Three hundred years?  Whoa.  What happened?" Joshua wanted to know.
Nick's mind drifted briefly into the past.

-Flashback-

The coast of France 1652

      Nicholas stowed his bags in the corner of his small room and checked
the time again.  It was still hours until daylight, but for once he wished
the sun would hurry and rise.  LaCroix would be furious when he realized his
son had left again, the second time in three years.  Nicholas hoped that by
the time anyone noticed he was missing, the ship would be well on its way to
Spain.

Suddenly, Nicholas stood upright, his senses tingling.  There was another
vampire nearby.  Although he felt nothing of his family, LaCroix was very
good at hiding himself.

      <Has he found me already? > Nicholas worried.  Cautiously, he opened
the door of the cabin and looked out.  He nearly laughed with relief when he
saw his companion, a sullen-looking young Spaniard working the ropes to the
sails.  The Spaniard had apparently not noticed that he was there until that
moment, for he stiffened in surprise and looked around with alarm.  Then he
noticed Nicholas watching him and the two stared at one another for a long
moment.  Though not a word passed between them, they shared the unspoken
agreement of silence that is common between two individuals who are both
running away from something.

      Nicholas saw the young vampire several more times during the week-long
journey, but they each had their own worries, and never spoke more than a
polite greeting.  He was glad to leave the ship behind when they landed, and
eager to get on to the city of Madrid.  He wondered briefly how long his
freedom would last this time.

-End Flashback-

      Nick smiled a little before answering Joshua's question.  "Oh, he was
working on a merchant ship at a time when I was doing some traveling.  We
crossed paths only briefly, and I didn't even know his name until recently."

      Joshua was silent for a moment, his curiosity working against his
natural reservation. "So how do you know him now?"

      Nick brought his drink over to the couch before answering.  "Tracy's
my partner."

      "Partner?"  Joshua paused, considering.  "She told me about a partner,
but she didn't say you was a vampire."

      "She doesn't know.  And I intend to keep it that way, so don't say
anything to her, OK?"

      "OK.  So you're a cop, huh?  Wow."

      "Does it surprise you?"

      Joshua had never liked answering questions.  "Well, I didn't think...
you know, vampires don't usually..." he faltered.  "I mean, everyone knows
that vampires are rich!  Why do you work?"

      Nick had to laugh.  "Some are rich, some aren't," he explained.
"Vachon's dirt poor, if you hadn't noticed.  It's because he refuses to work
other then playing his guitar sometimes.  He's a self-proclaimed slacker."

      "Yeah, I had noticed that," Joshua said.  Despite himself, a smile
twitched at the corners of his mouth.  "So what about you?"

      "Well, I have plenty of money, but I like working.  It makes me feel
good, because I'm contributing something to society.  I use some of my
savings to supplement my income, and the rest is part of a charity
foundation."

      "Wow, cool."  Joshua paused before asking, a little shyly, "How old
are you, anyway?"

      "About 800 years.  I was born in 1194.

      "Wow."

      "And you?

      "Fifteen."  The answer was almost a whisper.

      "Nothing wrong with that," Nick said with a smile.  "I sometimes wish
I were that young again."

      "Why?"

      "Life seemed simpler then.  And there're a lot of things I would do
differently if I could live my life over.  But tell me about yourself.  What
do you like to do?"

      Joshua bit his lower lip as he thought.  "Umm... I like to play
basketball, and Nintendo, and I like to read sci-fi books."

      Nick smiled.  "Great," he said, then frowned.  "Uh, what's
'Nintendo'?"

      "It's a video-game machine."  The shy smile was now there in earnest.
"Almost everyone I know has one.  You really don't know what it is?"

      Nick shook his head.  "This world changes way too fast.  What else?"

      "Well, I just got my brown-belt in Tae Kwon Do, but I guess that
doesn't really matter anymore."

      "It could matter more than you think.  Vampires may be stronger and
faster than mortals, but our reflexes are about the same.  We still have to
process what's happening before we can react to it.  Someone who studies
martial arts can have a distinct advantage."  Joshua nodded.  It made sense.
"Did you study anything in particular in school?"

      "Just regular stuff."

      "Define 'regular stuff'.  The last time I was in a children's school,
it was being taught by priests."

      Joshua smiled, then shrugged.  "You know, literature, math, history,
science, that sort of thing."

      "What was your favorite?"

      "Oh, I don't know.  I do OK in all of them, but I don't really like
any of them."  He thought for a moment, then continued.  "I always thought I
could really like history, but they don't teach it right."

      "What do you mean?" Nick asked, curious.

      "They make you memorize all these stupid dates and places and stuff,
but they don't really tell you why it's all important."  Josh shrugged
again.  "You know, how it's connected together, and what it did to change
things, not just for the rulers and those guys, but for the people and how
they lived."

      Nick gave a nod of agreement.  "I taught archeology and history at a
university for a while, and it always amazed me how little students knew
about everyday history."

      Joshua looked at him with surprise.  "You were a teacher, too?" he
asked.

      "And a doctor, and an archeologist, and an actor.  I've done a little
of everything.  I started out as a crusader."

      "No way!"  Joshua leaned forward excitedly.  "You mean like with King
Richard and everything?"

      "Not really.  I was only five when King Richard died.  I remember
because my father held a feast like none other."

      "A feast?"  This seemed to perplex Joshua.  "Because the king died?"

      "He was an English king, and my family was very loyally French."

      "Oh, right.  They were always fighting, weren't they?"

      "You have no idea."



Joshua 5/?
      The clunk and whine of the elevator were familiar sounds to Natalie.
She barely noticed them anymore, except to wonder if Nick would ever replace
it with something quieter and smoother.  Probably not.

      She shoved the door open and exited with a smile.  "Nick!" she called
automatically before spotting him on the couch, talking on the phone.  Since
he was busy, she turned to drop her snacks in the kitchen, but was brought
up short by the sight of a boy, maybe 13 or 14, holding a glass of dark
liquid.  He stared back at her with wide eyes for a moment, then, just as
Natalie caught a flash of amber in his eyes, abandoned his drink and bolted
into Nick's bedroom, slamming the door behind him.  She turned, deeply
startled, to Nick, who had hung up the phone.

      "Sorry," he said, abashed.  "I forgot to call you and tell you not to
come over."

      "Who was that?"

      "Joshua Carter.  I'm watching him for tonight."

      "Really?"  Natalie was intrigued.  "For who?"

      "For Vachon.  He and Tracy found him while camping, abandoned.  I
agreed to let him stay here and keep an eye on him on the nights I'm off
while he tries to find someone to take him in," he explained, avoiding the
fact that Vachon had wanted _him_ for the job.

      "'Take him in'?" Natalie echoed.

      "Yeah.  A lot of fledglings-- new vampires-- are abandoned for various
reasons.  Most don't survive-- it's not an easy world we live in.  Some
manage to get along, but they're always at a disadvantage.  They're weaker
and more likely to get into trouble.  Josh wouldn't make it on his own, I
can tell you that right now, but Vachon promised Tracy that he'd find
someone to take care of him."

      "Hmmm.  I didn't know vampires went in for adoption."

      "Well, it's not the way things normally work, but it's happened
before.  So, Vachon's out beating the pavement, and I've made some calls to
people I know, too, but I haven't had any luck.  Vachon's got more
connections in the Community than I do, so he's more likely to turn
something up.  The problem isn't just finding someone willing to take up a
fledgling not their own, which is hard enough, but one who can handle
someone of Joshua's temperament."

      Natalie glanced at the closed door.  "He's pretty shy, isn't he?"

      "Not so much shy as terrified."  Natalie was taken aback.  Terrified?
Of *her*?  "As Vachon noticed," Nick continued, "he's not much of a vampire.
In fact, just about everything about it scares him.  Especially the
bloodlust."

      "Oh," was all Natalie could think of to say for a moment.  Then she
cleared her throat.  "Well then, I guess I'd better be going.  Wouldn't want
to trap the poor boy in there all night.  After, of course, I get a sample
from you."  Nick smiled and proffered his arm.  "And how's the new mix
going?" Natalie queried as she withdrew the blood sample.  Nick's smile
turned into a sour face.  Natalie had to laugh.  "Tell me you at least drank
some of it."

      "I did."

      "Good boy!"  She snapped off the elastic.  "All done."  Nick looked
like he was about to say something, but turned abruptly to look up over his
shoulder.  Natalie followed his gaze and saw that the door to Nick's room
was halfway open and a sandy-blond head poked through.  He said something,
but Natalie couldn't catch it.  Nick glanced at her, saw she hadn't heard,
then turned back to the boy.

      "Yes, she is," he answered, then explained, "He wanted to know if you
were Natalie Lambert."

      "That's me," she affirmed, smiling at him.

      Joshua emerged and made his way slowly down the stairs, his ears the
delicate shell pink that Natalie had learned was the vampire version of a
blush.  "Tracy told me a little about you.  I-I'm sorry I-- " he began, then
faltered.  Natalie put on a movie-star bored look and tossed her hair
dramatically.

      "Don't worry about it, darling.  I'm used to my ravishing looks
causing that kind of reaction in men."

Joshua ducked his head at that, but he was smiling as he did so.  "It's
just-- you startled me."  He glanced at his feet, then back at her.  "You
don't have to go, on my account."

      We were both right, Natalie concluded.  Terrified AND shy.  "If it
doesn't bother you, I did have some things to talk to Nick about," she said.
Joshua shook his head.  "Well, then, come over here and sit down.  You're
going to make me nervous, hovering like that."  With a small smile, Joshua
sat in one of the easy chairs.  They talked, and Natalie managed to get
Joshua to answer almost as many questions as he asked.

      After about an hour, Nick could tell that Joshua was getting tired and
sent him upstairs to sleep.

      "Busy night?" Natalie asked.

      "Not really.  This is normal.  He'll be sleeping a lot for the next
week or so, as his body adjusts to the changes.  Hopefully, Vachon will have
found someone to take him in by then."

      "Why don't you do it?" Natalie asked impulsively.

      Nick grimaced and shook his head.  "That was Vachon's first
suggestion.  I told him 'no' flat out."

      "Why?"

      "Well for starters, it's a huge responsibility, and it would take up a
lot of my time.  Furthermore, taking on a fledgling would mean changing my
life an awful lot."

      "Like what?"

      "Well, for one thing, fledglings have to drink human blood.  There's
no two ways about it.  And, if I took him in, I'd have to as well."

      "Oh?" Natalie said with surprise.  "Why?"

      "Animal blood is OK for day to day stuff.  I usually don't do much
more then a normal mortal.  But teaching and protecting a fledgling is
completely different-- it's not something you can do without drinking human
blood."  Nick shrugged.  "And there're a lot of other problems.  He's only
15-- *barely* 15, he said his birthday was just a few weeks ago; people are
going to notice that he doesn't age pretty quickly.  That's also going to
severely limit his interaction with mortal society.  More, being so young,
he's got very little control over his appetite.  He'd be better off with
someone who spends less time around mortals."  Nick frowned as unpleasant
memories flitted across his mind.  "Besides, there's still no guarantee that
he's going to survive."

      "What do you mean?  He looks OK."

      "Nat, have you ever wondered why there aren't any vampires Josh's age?
You've been to the Raven."

      Natalie thought about that for a moment before answering.  "I hadn't
thought about it.  I guess I figured either they stayed out of sight, or
that vampires just don't bring people that young across."

      "Something like that.  It's not considered a good idea to bring across
anyone under 20, because they're not emotionally stable.  They can go insane
far too easily.  It's always a risk, but it's a lot more likely with kids."

      "How likely?" Natalie asked, aghast.

      After a moment of hesitation, Nick answered softly.  "Too likely."  He
took a deep breath and let it out.  "And that makes them dangerous."

      Natalie nodded slowly.  "Sounds like Vachon has his work cut out for
him, then."

      "Yeah, he does."

      "And what will you do if no-one agrees?"

      There was a long silence before Nick shook his head.  "I don't know.
I honestly don't.  I just hope it doesn't come to that."

      Vachon grunted as he threw himself down on Nick's couch.  "Well, that
was a wasted night."

      "No luck?"

      "No.  I really didn't think I'd find anyone here in Toronto, anyway.
Tracy's going to be disappointed.  How about you?  You get a hold of your
friend?"

      "Yeah.  Turns out he's got a daughter, about five years ago."

      "Great."  Vachon rested his head against the back of the couch for a
few moments, then levered himself back up with a sigh.  "Where's Josh?"

      "Here," Joshua volunteered, trotting down the stairs from Nick's
bedroom.

      "My bike's just outside the garage, why don't you go on down.    I'll
be there is a second."

Joshua shrugged carelessly and went.  "I can take him tomorrow, but the next
couple of nights I'm working," Nick informed Vachon after Joshua was gone.

      "Fine," Vachon replied with a shrug.  "I've got a few more people to
look up tomorrow.  After that, Aristotle said he'd put a list together of
people I can talk to.  No guarantees, but I'll be spending a few nights
going over them and calling some."  He sighed in disgust and shook his head.
"Why am I doing this?" he complained.  "This should not be my problem."

      "Because Tracy would have your head if you didn't."  Nick's smile was
a little hard.  "And I might just help her."

      A quick tip-tap drew Joshua's attention as he entered the loft the
next night, and he looked over to see Nick hunched over a computer keyboard.
"What are you doing?" he asked, coming to peer over Nick's shoulder.

      "Paperwork."

      "From your job?"

      "Yeah.  Police officers are supposed to work 12-hour shifts, but
that's a little hard for me in the summertime.  So I worked out a deal with
the captain that I'd take the paperwork from cases home with me and do it
here.  Y'know, this stuff is supposed to be confidential."

      "Sorry," Joshua replied, not taking his eyes from the screen.  "Your
spelling is really bad."

      "Tell me about it.  The captain throws fits on a regular basis over my
'poetic license'."

      "And you don't type very fast, either."

      Nick was starting to get annoyed with Joshua's blithe observations.
"It's a new skill for me.  I suppose you could do better?"

      "Yeah.  I had a typing class in school, and when me and my friend,
Greg, would get bored, we'd have races."

      With a quirk of the eyebrows, Nick stood up and silently invited
Joshua to take a seat.  He did and Nick settled himself against the back of
the couch.  "What do you want me to type?" Joshua asked.

      " 'Suspect appeared to be unarmed...'" Nick muttered, re-reading the
last sentence he had typed, then cleared his throat and continued the
thought.  "Officers approached the suspect with weapons drawn and confirmed
that the suspect was indeed unarmed.'"  He paused, a little surprised at the
rapid clatter that accompanied his dictation.  Joshua looked up at him,
waiting, so he continued.  " 'Uniformed officers proceeded to cuff suspect.
Suspect was informed that he was under arrest for the murder of Lila Carly
and read his Miranda Rights.  Suspect offered no resistance to the arrest.'"
Again, as soon as he stopped speaking, the typing stopped.  He raised his
eyebrows at Joshua.  "Were you able to type that fast before?!?" he asked,
amazed.

      Joshua stared at the keyboard in front of him.  "Not really.  I mean,
fast, yes, but this is way out there."

      Nick grinned and shook his head.  "Kid, you could be really useful at
the precinct!"

      When the paperwork was finally out of the way, Nick looked at his
watch with a satisfied smile.  "Well, we still have time to go shopping.
You need some new clothes and I need to buy some furniture."

      "Why?" Joshua wanted to know.

      "You're going to be sleeping here for a few days while Vachon's out of
the country," Nick explained.  "Besides, I've been meaning to turn one of
these empty rooms into a guest bedroom for a while now.  What?" he asked,
seeing Joshua's knowing smile.  Joshua just shook his head.  "Come on.  Tell
me.  What's so funny?"

      "It's nothing," Joshua shrugged.  Nick continued to eye him until he
gave in.  "It's just, I figure the only person you'd need a guest bedroom
for is Natalie."

      "She does stay over every so often," Nick admitted.  "Not that it's
any of your business!"



Joshua 6/?
      Joshua loved the Caddy, color and all, and insisted that Nick put the
top down for the ride.  He wasn't terribly surprised that Nick knew of
stores that were open all night.  He was a little startled, though, to
discover that several of the people working at the furniture place were
vampires, and that they obviously knew who Nick was.  On the way back to the
loft, Joshua began yawning hugely, and was fast asleep by the time they
arrived.  Nick carried him inside and left him on his bed while the delivery
men set up the furniture in one of the downstairs rooms.  <Looks pretty
good,> Nick admitted after he had tipped them and sent them on their way.
In fact, it didn't really look like a guest room-- it looked like a room
someone would live in.

      Nick spent an hour or two reading, but was increasingly distracted by
the flickering of one of the florescent bulbs, which was slowly petering
out.  Finally, it went out altogether, with a soft 'pink'.  He sighed.  Oh,
well.  He retrieved a replacement bulb from the storage room and easily flew
to the light fixture.  Once he had removed the burnt-out bulb, he set it
gently on the ground and returned to the ceiling to put in the new one.

      "Whoa, way cool!"  Joshua's young voice was full of awe.  Nick glanced
down to discover his young charge staring up at him with wide eyes, and he
grinned sheepishly.  Joshua had still been asleep, but that had obviously
changed in the last few minutes.  "That is SO awesome!"

      "Yeah, well, I'd appreciate it if you didn't mention this to Natalie,"
Nick said, landing softly.

      "Why not?"

      "She keeps telling me, and she's right, that if I'm planning on being
a mortal, I'd better learn to act like one.  And that means things like
using a ladder."

      "No way!  If I could do that, I'd spend all my time up in the air."

      Nick had to laugh.  "You can do it.  Or, you will, as soon as someone
teaches you how."

      "Really?  Can you show me?"

      Nick hesitated.  He hated to disappoint the boy.  "Not right now.  In
fact, I think we'd better leave that for whoever your new master is."

      "Oh."  Joshua's enthusiasm evaporated in an instant, leaving him
subdued.  "OK."

      "Don't worry.  You'll get your chance."

      Nick worked the next three nights, busy nights that left little time
to think about anything else.  Still, he found himself wondering every so
often if Vachon was having any success.

      "Do you think he will?" Natalie asked during a quiet moment.  "I mean,
you said it wouldn't be easy."

      Nick shrugged.  "Whether he does or doesn't, it won't be a surprise.
It could go either way."  He wrinkled his forehead as a thought occurred to
him.  "I just hope Vachon doesn't try to take Josh down to the Raven."

      "Why not?  Wouldn't they let him in, even though he's not 18?"

      "Probably, and that's the problem.  He'd get eaten alive-- fledglings,
especially unclaimed ones, are prime targets for harassment, and Vachon
doesn't have the position or the age to do much about it."

      "Then what makes you think Vachon would take him there?"

      Nick snorted softly.  "Because if he needed to go there for some
reason, he wouldn't even think about it."

      Joshua sat clutching the barstool beneath him and wishing he were
anywhere but there.  The presence of so many other vampires, *and* mortals,
not to mention the flashing lights and the unbelievably loud music, had his
head pounding and every one of his nerves standing on end.  He'd never been
in a nightclub before, and didn't think much of his first visit.  To make
things worse, he could have sworn everyone was looking at him.  He tried to
convince himself that it was just because of his age, but the looks he was
getting ranged from amused to hostile, and ran straight though a spectrum he
didn't even want to think about.  Vachon was talking to someone and didn't
seem affected at all.  He closed his eyes and tried to ignore the feeling
that the crowd was slowly advancing on him.

      "You're new, aren't you?"  A voice near his ear made him jump.  He
spun around and found himself face to face with a woman who regarded him
with a sharp amusement.

      "Uh, kinda," Joshua managed as he drew back from her.  The sharpness
was more than just her expression-- it projected from her in an aura of
honed danger that would have set his heart pounding if he were mortal.

      "Kinda?"  The woman laughed, and several others behind her joined in.
Joshua focused on them for a moment.  They were clearly together, and
exchanged knowing smiles as they watched the exchange.  Joshua had the
distinct impression of *pointy* smiles, even though there were no fangs
showing at the moment.

      He instinctively jerked away from the light touch on his cheek as the
woman drew his attention back to herself.  "Tell me, little boy, what's your
name?"

      Joshua really didn't want to answer.  What he wanted to do was turn
around and find Vachon and insist they leave, but the woman's eyes wouldn't
let him.  They held him trapped until he finally whispered, "Joshua".

      The smile widened, and Joshua was fairly sure there *was* a touch of
pointyness to it now.  "Joshua," she purred.  "I like that name."

      "Josh!"  He felt a hand grip his arm and turn him around, breaking the
spell.  Glad relief flooded him at Vachon's intrusion, until he noticed that
the other vampire held a bottle and a couple of glasses.  "Come and sit
down.  We might as well have a drink while we're here."  Joshua was about to
protest, but Vachon sent him a look that warned him not to argue, so he
followed silently to a booth near the back, trying hard not to look over his
shoulder every other step.

      "Stay here," Vachon whispered after pouring him a glass of blood.
Surreptitiously keeping an eye on the crowd, he walked to the pay phone a
few feet away and dialed.

      Joshua at last dared glance over his shoulder.  The group from the bar
had worked their way across the floor and appropriated a table directly
between their booth and the door.  They clearly didn't intend to let Vachon
and Joshua leave unchallenged.

      "Knight here."

      "Knight, we've got a little problem here."

      Nick focused on the background noise on the other end of the phone.
"Vachon, please tell me you're not at the Raven."  Natalie looked up
curiously from the corpse she was working on.

      Pause.  "Yeah."

      Nick didn't bother to keep the anger out of his voice.  "What are
you--"

      "Look, you can lecture me later.  Right now, we could use a hand, OK?"
The terse comment held an urgency that instantly infected Nick-- cool,
collected Vachon was sweating.

      "I'll be right there."

      The club's rowdy atmosphere held a darker tone to Nick's ears as he
pushed his way through the crowd at the door.  Assuming his best "don't mess
with me" air, he bypassed the bouncer without so much as looking at him.
Once inside, it took him a moment to find Vachon and Joshua, tucked in a
dark corner, clearly avoiding the crowd.  It was equally clear that certain
parts of the crowd had no intention of being avoided.  Nick deliberately
brushed past them as he made his way to the back of the club, ensuring that
their attention was on him.

      He shot a quick smile at Joshua as Vachon rose casually to his feet.
"Hey, Knight.  Good to see you.  How long are you off for?"

      "Until Thursday."

      "OK, good.  He's all yours then.  Thanks."

      Nick bit back a snarl at Vachon's careless attitude.  "What did you
think you were doing, bringing him here?" he demanded, trying to keep his
voice down.

      Vachon hesitated nervously.  "Look," he said quietly, "we weren't
supposed to be here very long, but my guy was late and by the time I turned
around, trouble had already happened.  All right, it was a mistake.  Sorry."

      Nick glared at him.  "You have four days, Javier Vachon," he said in a
low tone.  "Use them!"

      Vachon shrugged and moved away, exiting quickly.  Nick shook his head,
then turned to Joshua.  "Come on.  Let's get back to the loft, huh?"  Joshua
checked the crowd nervously, and found every single person studiously
ignoring them.  A little confused, but reassured, he followed Nick out of
the club and down the street.  Once they were clear of the press, he let out
a breath he hadn't even realized he'd been holding.

      "Whoa.  What just happened back there?  I mean, one minute, they won't
leave me alone, and the next, it's like I don't even exist."

      Nick gave him a slightly evil smile.  "I have a reputation for being
bad tempered.  Most people avoid starting fights with me."

      "Oh.  So where's the caddy?"

      "Well... it's at the precinct.  Vachon sounded a little panicked, so I
left it there.  We'll have to fly."

      "Uh, reminder: I can't."

      "I'll carry you."  Nick ducked into a deserted alley.

      Joshua checked himself, then followed, giving Nick an incredulous
look.  "Can you do that?"

      "Piece of cake.  Climb on my back."

      After a moment of hesitation and a 'what-the-heck' shrug, Joshua did
so, wrapping his arms around Nick's neck.  After a quick look around to make
sure there were no casual observers, Nick took flight into the warm summer
night.

      Joshua was laughing wildly as they touched down on the roof of the
loft.  "That was the coolest thing ever!  Man, what a trip!"  He laughed
again.  "Wow!"

      Nick grinned at him.  "Flying is definitely one of the perks of being
a vampire," he agreed.  Then he turned serious.  "You have to be careful,
though," he warned.  "Fly during a clear night, and you risk being caught on
a satellite camera.  Fly low near populated areas or at any time when people
are awake, and you might be spotted."  He turned weary eyes to the lights of
the city and the sky above.  "The world is very different from when I was
young.  There are so many people, crowded so close together.  Electronics
watch our every move and threaten to expose us.  The smallest mistakes can
be fatal.  There's just no room anymore."

      Joshua followed his gaze, really noticing for the first time the
abundance of life here.  "It's noisy."

      "Very."

      "It's just going to get worse, isn't it?  More and more people.
Computers keeping track of everything, fingerprints and electronic ID and
all that."

      "That could very well be.  Or maybe it won't."  Nick smiled
reassuringly.  "If there's one thing I've learned this past century, it's
that nothing is as unpredictable as the future.  You never know what's going
to happen."




Joshua 7/?

      Nick was awake until far into the morning going over a couple of
cases, and as a result, slept in that night.  When he finally rose, he
expected that Joshua would already be awake, but as he came down the stairs,
he didn't see him anywhere.  After a moment, he caught sight of the youth
hanging by his heels from the balcony railing.

      He frowned at the odd sight.  "What are you doing up there?" he asked.

      "Making like a bat," was the pleased answer.

      Nick snorted.  He was still groggy and wasn't much for jokes before
breakfast.  With a frown of disappointment, Joshua pulled himself back up to
the balcony.  Once he was upright, he shrugged uncomfortably.  "I've just
always liked hanging upside down, that's all," he muttered.

      Nick caught the tone and reprimanded himself silently.  He really had
no call to be short-tempered with the boy.  He looked back at Joshua with a
wry smile as he poured a glass of blood.  "You know, I know someone here in
Toronto that actually sleeps like that."

      Joshua descended the stairs with a look of disbelief.  "You've gotta
be kidding me."

      Nick shook his head.  "Not at all."  He leaned back against the
refrigerator, grinning now.  "Robin Davin.  She's a songwriter, a friend of
Vachon's.  I heard someone once told her it was a good way to relax, and she
relaxed herself right to sleep.  Now she always sleeps upside down."

      "That's nuts!" Joshua concluded with a laugh.

      "Maybe so, but it works for her."  He took a long swallow, then
gestured back to the refrigerator.  "Have you had breakfast?"

      "Uh-huh."  Joshua started to sit on the back of the couch when
something on the counter caught his eye.  "Hey, is that today's paper?"

      Nick glanced at it.  "Yeah.  I brought it in after you went to sleep."
He raised his eyebrows as the teen jumped up and began rifling through the
papers.  "What are you looking for?"

      "The comics!" Joshua half answered and half announced, holding up the
right section.

      Nick laughed.  "You're a comics fan, huh?"

      "Yeah.  My mom used to read them to me when I was little."  He spread
the newsprint on the table and began perusing the small strips of story,
frowning occasionally.  "I wish I could get my hands on last week's comics.
I hate missing pieces of the story."

      Nick polished off the glass of blood and gestured towards the door.
"You're in luck-- there's about two week's worth in the garage.  I was going
to recycle them tomorrow."

      Joshua didn't need any more encouragement.  A few minutes later, the
living area of the loft was strewn with newsprint as Joshua tried to put the
various pages of comics in order.  Nick left him alone as Joshua immersed
himself in his happy project, searching each day's paper and shuffling the
comics page into its place.  As he reached for the next bundle in the pile,
Joshua barely glanced at the headlines, intent on his prize.  Then he paused
and looked again, slowly clearing the loose sheets away from the front page
and picking it up to make sure he hadn't read wrong.

      FIVE YOUTHS DEAD IN CEMETERY SLAYING

            Small town stunned by brutal murders

Slowly, as if in a dream, Joshua unfolded the newspaper section and found
himself looking at a picture of his hometown cemetery crawling with police.
His eyes jumped from line to line as he read bits and pieces of the story,
but he barely noticed them, except as catalysts for memory.

      ... entered the cemetery sometime after nightfall....  << His friends
laughing, jostling each other.  Hushed as they climbed over the short wall
of the cemetery.  It was going to be an adventure.>>  ... found near an
opened tomb...  <<People said there was a vampire there.  No-one really
believed it anymore.  They were going to open it.>>  ... throats torn...
<<Something moved inside the crypt, something dark.  He stopped pulling on
the door.  A cold wind rushed out.>>  Joshua stared blindly at the newspaper
in his hand, no longer seeing it or anything but that dark and terrifying
night.  Time and distance seemed to twist and vanish as memory flooded back.
<<Movement, faster than he could see.  It grabbed him, a grip like frozen
iron-- struggling to yell, throat tightening, hard to even breath-- a shadow
with hot coals for eyes, staring down at him.>>  Unconsciously, he touched
the side of his neck, remembered fire and pain shooting through him,
remembered darkness ri!
sing up to claim him  <<falling through darkness, endless, tumbling,
nothingness, where? >>

      "Josh?"  Nick's voice cut through the memories, dragging him back to
the present.  "Joshua, are you all right?"  Joshua looked up to find Nick
standing over him, looking concerned.

      For a long few moments, Joshua couldn't respond.  When he found his
limbs again, he handed the paper to Nick without a word.  Nick took it and
read over the story.  When he realized what it was, he shook his head with a
low whistle.  "This is you, huh?  I'd seen it, but I didn't make the
connection.  Vachon found you pretty far from there."  When Nick looked
down, though, he saw that Joshua wasn't listening to him.  He was staring in
silence at another front page, this one from two days later.  Nick crouched
down and read over his shoulder-- it was another headliner, from the same
town.

      GRAVE ROBBERY-MURDER BAFFLES POLICE

The story detailed how the fresh grave of one of the boys had been dug up,
the coffin destroyed and the body gone.  The cemetery groundskeeper had been
found nearby, his throat torn out-- the police were assuming that it was the
same killer who had murdered the youths.

      Nick glanced down at Joshua.  The boy was barely breathing as he
stared at the page.  As Nick watched, he began to shake his head just the
slightest bit.  "Josh?" he ventured, concerned.

      "No."  The word was no more than a breath.  He closed his eyes and
swallowed against the rising tears.  "No, no, please, no."

      Nick glanced at the newspaper article again, then gently took the
paper from Joshua's hands.  "Josh, it could have well been the same vampire
that brought you across.  Just because he's near where you were buried..."

      "No.  It wasn't."  The words rang with a hopeless knowledge.

      "How do you know?"

      "Because I remember."

      Nick cleared away the newspapers and sat on the rug.  "Tell me about
it."

-- Flashback--

      Darkness.  Darkness so deep, it was palpable, pressing down around
him, confining him.  Darkness that exists only when a space is utterly
devoid of light.  Joshua had no idea where he was, and was in no condition
to wonder.  All he knew was that he had to get *out*, because in here was
Nothing, and he needed Something.

      He pushed against the surface in front of his face and felt it give a
little.  He pressed harder and something cracked and moved under his hands,
but it was heavy, too heavy.  But he had to get Out.  In frustration he tore
at it, using his hands as claws.  It came away easily, with a ripping and
breaking sound.  Something pierced and scraped his hands.  It hurt, but he
didn't pay any attention.  He had to get Out.  Beyond the barrier was softer
stuff-- dirt, some part of his mind recognized.  This, too, he dug through
without a second thought.  At last he stood, filthy but free, his newly
sharpened senses turned to the scents and sounds borne by the night breeze.

      It was night-- safe, comforting night-- and the cemetery grounds were
awash with light from the gibbous moon.  He looked around, saw the graves
spread out around him.  A distance beyond that were the handful of
streetlights that marked the center of the small Canadian town, and to one
side was the only all-night gas station, sitting alongside the freeway.
Somewhere, a baby cried, and a mother rose to hush it.  Dogs whuffled and
barked, and a drunken man snored and mumbled in his sleep.  The sounds
interested him, but only in that they were Life.

      "Hello?"  An uncertain voice, quivery from age and fear, drew his
attention.  "Is someone there?"  A flashlight panned the ground not far
away, coming closer.  Someone with more experience might have hidden or
crouched down, keeping out of sight until the man was closer.  Joshua simply
stood, waiting.  "The cemetery closes at sunset, you know.  You'll have to
come back in the morning."

      The flashlight spotlighted him, and he winced away, momentarily
blinded.  He heard the disbelieving gasp as the old man recognized him.  He
heard also the wild beating of the terrified heart.

      This.  This was what he Needed.

--End Flashback--

      Joshua hugged his knees to his chest and squeezed his eyes closed,
loosing the battle to hold back his tears.  "He was just a nice old man," he
whispered.  "He used to tell us ghost stories when after school.  And I--
I--"  The battle was lost.

      Nick laid a gentle arm across the shaking shoulders.  "Listen to me,
Josh.  You couldn't have remembered your name, let alone realize what you
were doing.  Believe me, I've been there."

      Joshua didn't seem to have heard him.  "I had to get away.  I had to.
I couldn't stop running.  I didn't know where I was going or what I was
going to do.  I just had to get away from it."

      Nick shook his head in sympathy.  This kid had had quite an
introduction to being a vampire.  Much as he didn't like to think about it,
Nick admitted that his own had been a lot easier.  He'd had Janette and
LaCroix to tell him what was happening.  More importantly, he had been an
adult already, and well accustomed to killing and death.  It had not seemed
such a great leap for him, to go from slaughtering nameless foes at an
officer's command to giving into the vampire's hunger-driven murder.  Joshua
was still several years from adulthood, even by mortal standards, and had
probably never been closer to death than playing in a graveyard and what he
saw on TV.

      <Poor kid> Nick thought as he pulled Joshua closer, offering what
support he could as the boy cried, and felt his heart ache for him.



Joshua 8/?

       Nick smiled as the shutters slid open, revealing the night sky, then
opened the window.  Joshua had been very subdued all night, still recovering
from the night before, and Nick had been looking for a way to cheer him up.
This seemed perfect.  Leaving the remote on the couch, he went and knocked
lightly on the room Joshua was now using.

       "Josh, come here.  I want to show you something."  Joshua looked up
curiously and found Nick standing in the doorway with an expectant smile on
his face.  The room beyond was nearly dark.

       He shrugged.  "OK."  He laid aside the book he'd been thumbing
through and slid off the bed.

       "Uh-uh."  Nick's smile grew.  "Close your eyes."  Joshua eyed him for
a moment.  "Go on," Nick prompted.  Joshua did so and Nick took him by the
hands and led him through the main room of the loft.

       "I hate doing stuff like this," Joshua muttered.  "I always feel like
I'm going to bang into something."

       Nick ignored the comment as he reached their goal.  "Now," he said in
a hushed tone, "reach out your hand in front of you.  Don't open your eyes."

       Joshua was startled when his hand entered a flow of some sort.
Certainly not water, though it moved like it, but not air, either.  "What is
it?"

       "What does it feel like?"

       "I don't know.  It's tingly, and kind of tickles.  But at the same
time it's smooth.  Like silk but way smoother and finer.  Almost like it's
not quite real.  What is it?  I don't know."

       "That's because there isn't anything like it on this earth.  Open
your eyes."

       Joshua opened them.  For a moment, he saw nothing.  Then he realized
that he was next to one of the large windows, his hand bisecting a beam of
moonlight.  He gasped at the realization, then breathed an almost silent
'oh!' as he turned his hand over and over, feeling the ethereal silver slide
over his skin.  He turned to stare in disbelief at the full moon that hung
delicately over the city's skyline.

       "It's difficult to feel if the moon isn't mostly full, even when you
know what you're looking for," Nick explained.  Joshua didn't answer, but
slowly moved to step fully into the moonlight, his eyes closed once again
and his face tilted upward to the night.  He felt the gentle touch of the
light brush his cheeks and run over his closed eyes, at once real and
unreal.  He laughed and shook his head, feeling it run off through his hair.

       Nick stood to one side and watched, amazed once again at the
transformation moonlight had on a vampire.  The brilliant white light lit
Joshua's translucent skin and made it seem to glow from within.  It danced
in waves across his hair, giving it flashing white and silver accents that
reminded Nick of the stories he's heard as a boy, of the fair folk;
creatures of another world.

       "Nick?"  Nick turned around.  Natalie was standing near the door,
peering uncertainly into the darkness.

       "Over here, by the window."

       After a moment, Natalie's eyes adjusted and she spotted them.  "What
are you doing?" she asked as she made her way across the room.

       "Having some fun."  Natalie gave him a puzzled look.  "Discovering
the fact that vampires can feel moonlight."

       "Really?"  Natalie was intrigued.  "You never told me that."

       Nick shrugged.  "It never came up."

       "Can we go onto the roof?" Joshua asked.  The moon had risen far
enough that little light now spilled through the open window.

       "Sure."  He turned to Natalie.  "Come with us?  We'll make a picnic
of it."

       Natalie grinned.  It was rare anymore to see Nick in such a good
mood.  "Sounds like fun."

       Nick grabbed a couple of bottles from the fridge and picked up the
bag of snacks and soda Natalie threw together.  "Get a quilt from the
closet," he instructed Joshua.  "The gravel's kind of rough to sit on."

       Nick set the quilt in the shadow of the stairwell, and he and Natalie
sat and talked while Joshua played.  Every so often, a flit of movement here
and there caught Natalie's eye, but when she turned to look, there was
nothing there.

       "You'll never catch them," Nick informed her after the third or
fourth time.

       "What are they?"

       "Other vampires.  This kind of night is perfect to spend outside, and
many do."

       "So they just fly around?  Isn't that dangerous?"

       "It's three in the morning, and there are no satellites scheduled
tonight.  Besides, you already know about vampires, and you couldn't get a
good enough look to tell.  Nobody else will, either."  Nick glanced over to
see what Joshua was doing.  He was standing still with a disconcerted look
on his face.

       "What's wrong?" Nick asked.

       "My skin hurts a little," Joshua complained, rubbing at his arm.  "It
feels kind of numb."

       "I'm not surprised.  You've been out there for over an hour-- you've
got a moon burn.  Come sit in the shade for a little."

       "A *moon* burn?  You're kidding."

       "Nope.  Moonlight is reflected sunlight.  It will still irritate your
skin if you get too much of it."

       Joshua laughed as he came over and sat down.  "It's crazy, but it
makes sense."  Nick handed him a glass of blood from one bottle, then poured
himself one from another.  Natalie didn't comment.

       "What is that?" Joshua asked.  "It smells different from mine."

       "It's steer blood," Nick explained.  "I get it from a local
slaughterhouse."

       "Why?"

       "I don't think it's right to drink human blood when I don't really
have to."

       "I didn't know we had a choice," he said, reaching for the bottle.

       Nick pulled it out of the way.  "You don't.  I do."

       "Why not?  I don't want to drink human, either."

       "Because you're too young.  It's going to be a long while yet before
you'll be able to live on animal blood.  Besides," Nick smiled wryly, "you
don't really want to."  He handed Joshua his glass and motioned for him to
drink some.  Joshua took a mouthful of the blood, then made a sour face and
swallowed with difficulty.  "See what I mean?" Nick chuckled.

       "Ugh," was Joshua's agreement.  "How can you like that stuff?"

       "I didn't say I like it.  I said I think it's better than drinking
human blood when I don't need to.  And it's really not as bad as Natalie's
'protein shakes'."  He wrinkled his nose and glanced out the corner of his
eye at that notable.  Natalie socked him on the shoulder.

       "You mean that white stuff in the fridge?  Now _that_ smelled sick."

       "It tastes about as bad."

       Natalie raised her fist again.  "Nick," she said warningly.  Then she
laughed.  "All right, all right.  I know, you've told me a million times how
bad they are."

       "He still drinks them, though," Joshua put in helpfully.  "I've seen
him."

       "Sounds like you have an advocate," Natalie said with a smile.  Nick
grinned back and gave Joshua a playful shove.  Then Natalie sighed.
"Actually, that's what I came to tell you.  I ran some chemical tests on the
latest sample I took from you.  The compositions are moving back to what
they were when we started.  I know--" she held up a hand to still Nick's
protest.  "Despite my constant harping, I do realize that you're doing your
best, and that it's not easy for you.  And it's not your fault-- the virus
is adapting itself again.  What I'm saying is that maybe it's time to try
another tack."  Nick was silent, so Natalie continued.  "That's what a
scientist does.  If one thing doesn't work, we try something else.  I'm not
about to give up.  As a scientist or as a friend."

       "I never doubted that."

       "If you ever figure it out," Joshua said, looking glum now and
drawing his knees up to his chest, "you have to come find me and tell me."

                Nick nodded.  "I promise."




Joshua 9/?
       The sharp bleeping of the alarm roused Nick from his day's sleep.
With a grunt, he slapped it off, then stretched.  It took a moment for him
to sense that there was something different.  Puzzled, he mentally reviewed
his surroundings.  Everything was the way it should be, yet something seemed
out of place.  Finally he came up with the answer, and he would have laughed
if it hadn't been so disconcerting: Joshua had gone back with Vachon that
morning, and the loft was empty except for himself.  That was all.

       He tried to dismiss it with a shake of his head, but it wouldn't be
dismissed.  So he settled for musing on it instead.  Strange how he'd never
noticed how quiet the loft was with no-one else there.  He'd lived on his
own for so long that he had forgotten what it was like to have someone
around to talk to, and now that there wasn't again, it felt a little lonely.
The loft seemed suddenly too big for one person.

       He shook his head again and turned on the TV for some noise.  Well,
nothing to be done about it-- Vachon would find someone to care for Joshua
somewhere, and then he'd be gone for good.  Nick knew that eventually he'd
get used to the silence again.

       The next night didn't start off any better.  "Knight, you're late!"
Capt. Joe Reese did not look happy at all.

       "Sorry, Cap.  I was up late and slept in."  Reese looked at his star
detective.  It was obvious he wasn't in peak form. His hair was mussed, and
he hadn't bothered to shave.

       "Yeah, well, not on my shift you don't," he grumbled.

       Nick gave the captain one of his patently charming smiles.  "Don't
worry," he assured him.  "It won't happen again."  The truth was, he hadn't
been able to sleep at all-- he'd given up around two o'clock.  He looked
around curiously.  "Where's Tracy?"  As if on cue, Tracy Vetter burst though
the door, red faced and panting.  If anything, she looked even more
disheveled than Nick.

       "I'm so sorry," she blurted out as she came up to them.  "I was
visiting a friend.  I guess I didn't notice the time."  *Vachon and Josh,*
Nick guessed, smiling at the thought.

       Reese shook his head.  "Well, you're here now.  Looks like it's going
to be quiet tonight, so you can start getting caught up on your paperwork.
Knight, I want that Simmons report on my desk by morning."

       "Sure, Cap."  Nick and Tracy exchanged a resigned look as the captain
went back to his office.  This was going to be a long night.

       Midnight found both detectives still at their desks, but neither
working. Tracy fiddled with her pen as she worried.  Vachon had spent most
of a week traveling the continent, looking for someone to care for Joshua,
but with no luck.  He had told her he'd try again in a few days, but she
could tell that he was getting frustrated.  <What if Vachon can't find
anyone?> she fretted.  <What will happen to Josh?  What if he does find
someone?  I'll never see the kid again.  I don't think Josh wants to leave
Toronto.  What if he doesn't like whoever Vachon finds?>

       She would have been very surprised to discover that her partner was
thinking much the same thoughts.

       Nick pulled his eyes away from the ceiling to glance at the clock.
2:19 p.m.  He groaned and rolled onto his side.  Why couldn't he sleep?

       *You know exactly why,* some part of his mind pestered.  *C'mon.  You
already know what you want to do.  Why don't you do it? *  <Because it would
be too much trouble, and besides, I'm not exactly the greatest roll model
for a kid. > he answered it angrily.  *Liar.  That's an excuse.  You know
the real reason.*  <Shut up.>  *Say it.*  <Because I don't want to, now shut
up. >  Nick struggled to shut out the voice, but he still heard the knowing
whisper.  *Because you're scared. *

-Flashback-

France 1228

       "Are you afraid, Nicholas?"  He glanced up as LaCroix's voice hissed
in his ear, then shook his head uneasily.

       "N-No, Master," he lied, "I've just never been so far from the ground
before."  Nicholas looked down again at the three-story drop.  He swallowed
and started to move away from the edge, but LaCroix pushed him forward
insistently.

       "Come, my boy," LaCroix said pleasantly, "There is nothing to it.
Simply step off the edge, and allow your new power to exert itself."

       "Like this, mon cher."  Janette demonstrated, floating easily in
front of him.  Nicholas looked somewhat more encouraged, but glanced
nervously at the empty air between her and the ground so far below.

       "What if I don't fly?"  His voice cracked just a little as he looked
back at his master.  LaCroix smiled.

       "Why then you will fall, and be little the worse for the wear."  When
Nicholas didn't respond, his gaze turned severe.  "Nicholas," he continued
softly, "if you do not jump, I will push you.  Either way, we will not be up
here all night."

       Nicholas nodded; he quite believed that LaCroix would do just that.
Taking a deep breath he edged forward, but faltered as he again gauged the
distance.

       Janette smiled encouragingly.  "Do not look at the ground, Nicolas.
Look at the stars."  Nicholas obligingly looked up.  The sky was beautiful
tonight, clear with just a sliver of a moon.  "Do you not wish to be among
them?"  Janette's voice was little more than a whisper.  He nodded.

       "Then come."

       Not taking his eyes off the sky above him, Nicholas gritted his teeth
and stepped out into empty air.

-End Flashback-

       Nick looked around the deserted church before opening the door that
led to Vachon's living space.  Joshua looked up from a book as Nick entered,
and his face lit up.

       "Hi, Nick!  What are you doing here?"

       "I need to talk to Vachon.  Where is he?"

       "Here," was Vachon's answer as he came from somewhere behind Nick.
"What do you want?"

       "To get this done with.  Do you have *anything*?" he demanded
impatiently.

       Vachon picked a piece of paper off a table and held it out for Nick's
inspection.  Nick could see it had been marked over and over with different
colored inks, the most prevalent being red.  "I've looked, Knight," Vachon
assured him hastily.  "I really have.  But so far I've come up with
nothing."  He waited for a second, then swallowed nervously, not sure how to
interpret Nick's silence.  "I didn't manage to contact everyone-- there are
still a few possibilities."

       Nick held the paper lightly, as though gauging its weight.  Then he
shook his head resolutely and tore the paper in half.  "Damn your
possibility," he stated.  "I'll take him."

       Vachon just stood there for a moment.  Blink.  Blink.

       "But I've got two conditions."

       With a mental shake, Vachon managed to answer  "Uh.  OK.  And those
would be..."

       "Number one, you have to keep watching him while I'm at work, at
least at first."

       "Yeah, OK.  And?"

       "Two, YOU get to figure out how we're going to break this to Tracy."
Vachon's eyes widened as he considered the implications of this.  "Yeah.
Great."  He managed a weak smile as Nick turned to leave.

       "C'mon kid.  Let's go home," Nick said with a beckoning wave.  Joshua
scrambled to his feet and followed after Nick, a huge grin spreading across
his face.





Joshua 10/?
       "Aristotle!"  The older vampire looked up from his computers as Nick
descended the stairs.  He smiled in welcome.

       "Ah, Nicholas.  What can I do for you?  It's not time for you to move
on already, is it?"

       Nick shook his head.  "No.  Something else completely.  I'm taking a
fledgling; I need you to set up a background for him."

       Aristotle just stared at Nick for a moment.

       "Well," he said at last, "Well, um, yes."  He turned to tap a few
keys, then looked back at Nick.  "I can do that, yes."  He hesitated for a
moment longer then decided he had to know.

       "Nicholas, I do not understand.  You?  I thought you had done with
the vampire's life.  Why in the world would you take a fledgling?"  Nick
smiled a little at his old friend.

       "I guess 'taking on' would be a better way to put it.  I decided to
take the boy Vachon found."

       Aristotle looked dubious.  "That doesn't really answer my question,
Nicholas.  Why?"

       Nick pulled up a chair and sat down.  "A lot of reasons.  Most
important, I guess, is that I like him.  I've been watching him for Vachon
for a little more than a week, now, and he really grew on me.  Besides, Josh
needs someone to look after him-- he's not ready for the harsher realities
of our world.  And maybe I can help him avoid some of the mistakes that I
have made."  Aristotle forbore from pointing out that most of those mistakes
had been made at the prodding of LaCroix.  "And he's adamantly against the
idea of staying a vampire one moment longer than necessary, and I'm the only
one I know of who can understand that."

       "I could name a few," Aristotle commented, then waited, knowing that
Nick wasn't quite finished.

       "Besides, ever since I started watching him, I've been feeling that
my regular life is, I don't know... too quiet, I guess.  I like having him
around-- I like the way the loft feels with someone else in it."

       Aristotle chuckled derisively.  "You're a homicide detective, and
you're complaining that your life is 'too quiet'?  I don't think I'll ever
understand you, Nicholas."

       He tapped a few keys on the computer in front of him and pulled up a
blank screen.

       "OK, let's get started then.  Name?"

       "Joshua Carter, but his death made the papers, we found out, so I
guess we'll have to come up with something different."

       "Not necessarily.  Do you have any idea how many people are named
'Joshua Carter'?"

       "Not really."

       "Check the internet some time.  Besides, from what Vachon told me,
it's unlikely that anyone is going to come looking for him.  Of course, it's
all up to you."

       "It's probably better to let him keep it, then.  His world's been
shaken enough as it is."

       Aristotle nodded.  "Age?"

       "Fifteen."  Aristotle raised his eyebrows at this but continued.

       "Background?"  Nick supplied everything he knew about Joshua's
family.         The questions went on for a while longer before Aristotle
was satisfied, though he frowned when he heard where Joshua was from.  "And
you're planning to stay in Canada?  Risky business, Nicholas.  Forget the
name, what if someone he knows spots him?"

       "Canada is a big place, and his family lives on the other side of the
province.  We'll be OK."  Nick spoke with more confidence than he felt.

       "Very well," Aristotle said with a sigh of resignation.  He pulled a
piece of paper off the printer and handed it to Nick.  "Here's what we'll
do.  He's your cousin's son.  Your cousin and his wife just died in an auto
accident, and since you are the only living relative, they left everything
to you, with the stipulation, of course, that you care for the boy.  Sound
plausible enough?"

       Nick nodded.  "It'll work."

       "Fine," Aristotle went on briskly, "I'll have all the papers and
records ready in two days.  Meanwhile, I'd suggest you get this settled with
your employer."  Nick turned to leave.  "Ah, Nicholas?"  Nick paused and
looked back.  "I actually have a few more questions."  Aristotle continued
at the questioning look that Nick gave him.

       "First off," he paused, trying to phrase the question as carefully as
possible, "Have you told LaCroix of your decision?"

       Nick scowled.  "No, and I don't intend to.  He probably knows
already, and if he doesn't, that's his tough luck," he snapped.  Aristotle
decided not to pursue the question further; he understood that Nick's anger
was more defensive than anything.  With a placating gesture, he continued.

       "Secondly, and merely out of curiosity, are you planning to re-bond
him?"

       Nick hesitated, then nodded.  "I wasn't going to tell anyone yet, but
yes.

Anything else?"

       "Just this: Nicholas, my friend... are you sure you know what you're
doing?"

       Nick chuckled.  His age-old friend knew him far better than he often
let on.  "Probably not.  But I'm going to do it anyway."

       Captain Reese looked up in surprise as Det. Knight walked into his
office, unsummoned.  <He looks distracted again.  I wonder what's eating him
lately. >

He wanted to ask, but instead just put down the file he had been holding and
waited for Nick to speak.

       "Captain, I'm going to need a week off."

       Reese raised his eyebrows in surprise.  "Oh?  Any particular reason,
Knight?"

       Nick handed him the official-looking letter Aristotle had given him.
"My cousin and his wife just died, and they named me executor of the
estate."

Reese skimmed the letter quickly, then looked up at Nick sympathetically.

       "Well, Knight, I'm truly sorry to hear that."  He looked at the
letter again and frowned.  "But your records don't list any close
relatives."

       Nick shrugged casually.  "'Close' is the operative word here,
Captain.  I haven't seen Dave since his wedding, and I was only 12 then.  We
haven't exactly stayed in touch."

       "So why would he make you the executor?"

       "Our family's pretty small.  I'm his closest living relative, and his
wife didn't have any family."

       Reese nodded understandingly.  "OK, I'll book you off.  But why a
week?  A lawyer could take care of this in a few days."

       Nick tried not to look uncomfortable.  This was the hard part.  "I've
already seen the will, Cap," he said.  "They've left everything to me, with
the understanding that I'll use it to care for their son."

       Reese looked up in surprise.  "Son?  As in 'child'?"

       "Sort of.  He's not a little kid; he's fifteen already.  They didn't
want him to end up in Social Services, and I agree.  Besides, he has the
same sun allergy that I do.  It runs in the family," Nick hastened to add as
an incredulous look came over Reese's face.  "I just seem to be the best
choice."

       Reese let out a low whistle.  "A teenager.  Well, I hope everything
works out OK.  And my sympathies about your cousin."  He handed the letter
back to Nick.

       "Thanks, Cap."

       "Good luck."  Reese said as Nick turned to leave.  Nick smiled and
nodded his thanks.  As he closed the door, he heard the Captain mutter,
"You're going to need it."

       Tracy was just rolling out of bed when the phone rang.  She fumbled
with the receiver for a moment before answering.

       "Yeah, Vetter here."

       "Trace, it's me."

       "Oh, hi, Vachon.  What's up?"

       "Do you have anything planned for your lunch break tonight?"

       She glanced at her calendar.  "Nothing that can't be put off.  Why?"

       "Meet me at the park on Second and Jessup at 1 a.m.  I've got some
news for you."

       "What, you can't tell me over the phone?"

       "Just trust me, Tracy."  She sighed.  So much for going downtown for
some 'real' Chinese food.

       "OK, I'll see you then.  Bye."

       Grinning evilly, Nick motioned Joshua to keep quiet as he slipped
through the open door and moved silently up behind Natalie as she bent over
some paperwork.  He paused for a moment and glanced back at Joshua,
wriggling his eyebrows for effect.  Joshua put a hand over his mouth to keep
from snickering and watched.  Nick leaned carefully over until his mouth was
less than an inch from Natalie's ear.

       "Hey there," he said softly.  Natalie jumped up with a small shriek
and whirled on him, red-faced.

       "Nick, for the hundredth time, DON'T DO THAT!"  But she couldn't seem
to stay mad in the face of that enormously pleased grin.  She sat back down
with a sigh of annoyance.  "What do you need?  They said you suddenly
decided to take off for the week."

       "I thought you might like to know why I took the week off."  She
quirked an eyebrow at him, inviting him to continue.  In explanation, he
motioned to the open doorway where Joshua still stood.  "You might say I had
a change of heart.  Thought I'd keep him around."

Natalie smiled broadly.  "I think that's great," she said.  "You two seem to
be good for each other."  She turned back to address Joshua.  "Well, if
you're going to be hanging around, you wouldn't mind if I took some blood
samples, would you?  I'd like to see what differences there are between your
blood and Nick's."

       Joshua looked from Natalie to Nick.  "I guess not."

       Natalie patted the metal table.  "Just sit down here."  A few moments
later, she was labeling a new vial as Joshua watched the small needle hole
close up.  He looked up at Nick, who was standing nearby.

       "I guess this is what you meant when you said you felt like a
pincushion."

       Natalie just laughed.



Joshua 11/?

      Nick opened the door slightly and smiled at the sight of Joshua
sprawled out on the bed.  The boy seemed to spend at least as much time
asleep as he did awake.  But then, that was normal.  Nick remembered how
everything had seemed to take twice as much energy as it should have those
first few weeks.  The ringing of the telephone interrupted his reverie.  He
picked it up before the answering machine could come on.  He expected that
Joshua would sleep right through it, but there was no use in taking chances.

      "Hello, Knight here."

      "Hey, it's me."  The familiar voice made him smile.

      "Hi, Nat.  What's up?"

      "Oh, I was just wondering how everything was going.  Is Joshua
settling in all right?  All this yanking around has got to be kinda rough on
him."

      "He seems to be taking it pretty well.  He's asleep right now."

      "I didn't want to ask when you were here, earlier, but why hasn't he
reacted like Richie did?"  Nick could hear a suppressed note of resentment
in her voice.

      "He will, Nat.  Believe me, he will," he said, unable to keep the
regret out of his voice.  "He's young, he's scared, and he's not exactly a
violent person by nature-- mostly he's trying to ignore the fact that he's a
vampire altogether.  But sooner or later... well, the vampire doesn't like
to stay hidden very long."

      "Oh."  The resentment had been replaced by chagrin.  Nick decided that
it was time to change the subject.

      "Anything back on the tests?  I'll bet you sent them out the instant
we left."

      "How well you know me," she laughed.  "Yeah, I got the preliminaries
back just a few minutes ago, and I can already see both similarities and
differences.  The problem is, I have no idea what I'm looking for-- the
differences could be ascribed to a number of sources.  There are just too
many variables; I don't really know what I'm looking at.  It would be easier
working with someone related to you."

      "Well, Nat," Nick said slowly, "funny you should mention that, because
I'd say you're going to get your wish."

      "What?  What do you mean by that?"

      Nick paused, considering.  "It's not really something I should talk
about over the phone.  Do you want to come over after you get off?"

      "Sure, I'll be there."

      Nick glanced at the clock as he hung up the phone.  Almost 1 o'clock.
He hoped Tracy would take this whole thing as well as Nat seemed to be.

      Tracy looked around the unfamiliar park.  It was a classic place for a
secret meeting, large enough for privacy, but too small to get lost in.  She
heard a quiet *whoosh* and spun around before Vachon could sneak up on her.

      "So what is it?"

      Vachon smiled nervously and ran a hand through his long hair.  "Well,
I've got news you're going to love and news you're going to hate."

      "Don't you mean 'good news and bad news'?"

      "No.  They're both good news, really.  But you're not going to like
one of them."

      Tracy sighed, exasperated at his stalling.  "Just tell me, OK?"

      "Well, the news you're going to love is that I found someone to take
care of Josh, and it's someone who lives here in Toronto."

      "Really?!  That's great!"  She grinned excitedly and then checked
herself, looking at him suspiciously.  "So what am I going to hate?"

      "Well," Vachon shifted his weight nervously.  "It's who I found to
take care of him..."

      "Yeah?"

      "It's..." he hesitated, shrugged and looked past her shoulder.  A
familiar voice behind Tracy made her whirl around in surprise.

      "Actually, Tracy, it's me," her partner said as he stepped out of the
shadows.  Tracy stared first at Vachon and then Nick for a few moments.
<No.  It's not possible.  I don't believe it.  But...> Images from the last
5 months came flooding back. Nick, hurrying home before sunrise, shaking his
head when he was offered anything to eat, wincing away from the sight of
blood, staring off into space... <just like Vachon. >

      "Is this some kind of joke?" she asked weakly, begging them to tell
her she was wrong.  Nick and Vachon glanced at each other, then turned back
to Tracy.  Nick answered for them both.

      "No."

      Tracy gaped at him for a few moments, unable to do anything else.
Some part of her mind idly cataloged meaningless details.  The soft-looking
white shirt he wore, the way the lamplight glinted off his hair, and his
eyes, those strangely deep blue eyes that she had tried so often to
understand, were wary and uncertain.  <He's a... a Vampire? >  Her head
dropped as she struggled to understand.  Nick watched Tracy cautiously as
her heart rate jumped.  When she finally looked back up at him, her face was
nearly purple.

      "I'M GONNA KILL YOU, YOU BASTARD!!!!!"  Tracy screamed as she launched
herself at him.  Nick grabbed her arms, careful not to hurt her, and held
her immobile.  Within a few minutes she stopped struggling and went limp in
his grasp.  He set her down gently and stepped away from her.  Tracy looked
up at him with tears of hurt and anger in her eyes.

      "Why didn't you tell me!?" she cried.  "We're supposed to be
partners!"

      Nick looked away guiltily and then answered.  "There were several
reasons, the most important being your safety."  He cut off Tracy's protest
with a rueful smile.  "I know, you can take care of yourself.  And you can,
normally.  But try to understand.  It was bad enough that you knew about
Vachon, but not really serious.  The problem is, the more you know, the more
likely the Enforcers are to notice you."

      "Enforcers?"

      "They're a kind of vampire version of police.  They make sure
knowledge of us doesn't get out to the general public.  They do *anything*
they think is necessary."

      "*Anything*?"  That didn't sound so good to Tracy.  Nick nodded
grimly.  "You mean they'd do something like... kill me?" Tracy squeaked.
"Just because I know about you guys?"  She looked at Vachon for
confirmation, which she got.

      "And us, too, for letting this get out of hand," Vachon assured her.
"The less you knew, the better."

      Tracy glanced nervously at the shadows.  "What about now?  I mean,
you're telling me plenty."  Nick was a little relieved.  At least she seemed
to understand how serious this was.

      "Vachon and I will vouch for you," he said reassuringly.  "It's a
tricky business, and if anything goes wrong, we're all in for it.  But so
far, you've proven not to be a threat.  As long as you stay that way,
everything should be fine."

      "Wow.  OK, I get it.  You won't hear a word from me, huh-uh."  She
looked at Vachon.  "Now I get why you never wanted to explain anything."

      "Well," he said, shrugging, "That, and Knight told me not to."

      "Why?" she asked, turning back to Nick.  "I mean besides that...
stuff.  You said you had several reasons, what are the other ones?"

      Nick had the good grace to look abashed.  "Well, I've kind of gotten
used to being treated like a normal person.  I didn't want to ruin it."

      Tracy smiled a little.  "That I can understand.  You're the first
person since I joined the force to treat me like myself, not like
'Commissioner Vetter's Daughter'.  I guess I wouldn't want to lose that
either.  I'll make you a deal.  You stop keeping secrets, and I'll be
careful not to treat you any different."

      Nick chuckled.  "Deal.  Now come on, you're going to be late.  See you
later, Vachon."  Tracy continued to pepper Nick with questions as they
walked toward the parking lot.

      "Natalie knows about you, right?  I mean, she'd have to..."



Joshua (Revised) 12/?
      Nick glanced down at the book he had been trying to read and shook his
head in surrender.  It was impossible; his mind kept wandering all over the
place.  As he stood to put the book back on the shelf, he noted that
Joshua's breathing had changed, signifying that he was awake.  With a frown,
he called up the memories he knew would be there.  Yes, Joshua had been
awake for a while now, but had not stirred from his room.  That was odd, he
should be hungry. Fledglings were always hungry.  Concerned, Nick went to
the door and knocked lightly, but there was no answer.  He opened the door
and looked in.  Joshua was sitting forlornly on the bed, staring at nothing.
Nick crossed the room and sat lightly across from him.

      "Something wrong?"  The only answer was a shrug.  "Homesick?"  Another
shrug.  Nick frowned.  Joshua had been falling into this despondency more
and more the past few days, and Nick suspected he knew why.  "Come on, kid,
talk to me.  What's the matter?"

      Joshua drew his knees up to his chest and sighed.  "Yeah.  I mean, I
guess I am kinda homesick.  I've never been away from my family for this
long before.  But I don't think it's just that.  I mean, I'd like to go back
home, and I really miss my family.  I know I'll never see them again, and
that's really hard to handle.  But I think about it, and that's a lot of it,
but not all.  There's more to it than that."  He bit his lip as he struggled
to define what he was feeling.  "It's like something's missing, something
important, and I don't even know what it is."

      Nick nodded.  "I do," he said quietly.  Joshua looked at him, the
question on his face.  Nick took a deep breath.  "Vampires are connected,
literally, to members of their family; it's called a blood bond.  The best
explanation I can give you is that you are a part of the vampire who brought
you across, and he's a part of you.  It's normal for you to feel lonely,
lost even, because he's not nearby."

      "Oh."  Joshua thought it through for a moment, then scowled.  "So what
am I supposed to do?"  He was clearly upset.  "How do I find someone I don't
even know?"

      Nick shook his head.  "You don't.  He's probably on another continent
by now."  Nick could see that the frustration and depression were
threatening to overwhelm the youth, and he was fighting tears.  "But don't
worry.  We'll take care of it in the morning."

      That got Joshua's attention in a hurry.  He wiped his eyes with the
back of his hand and looked up in surprise.  "Why?  What happens then?"
Nick paused, torn between wanting Joshua to know what would happen
beforehand, and not wanting to give him time to get scared.  He opted to
start with middle ground, and see where it went from there.

      "We're going to do something called a 're-bond'."  He considered, then
added, "It will make you my child, permanently."

      Joshua considered for a moment.  "Will it make me stop feeling so
lousy?"

      "Yes.  And it will connect us, so I'll be able to teach you better and
know if you're ever in trouble."  Nick decided that this was not the time to
try to explain everything sharing a bond would do.  Some of it was just
plain unexplainable.

      "So how does this re-bond thing work?" Joshua pressed him.  "What's
going to happen?"  So far, he kind of liked the idea.

      "It's hard to say, really," Nick hedged.  "I know how they're done,
but I've never seen one, and I've only met one person who was part of a
re-bond.  He was a friend of mine years ago."

      "Well, what did he say about it?"

      After a moment's hesitation, Nick answered.  This was getting into the
area he wanted to avoid.  "Just that it was scary."

      Joshua suddenly wasn't so sure about this.  After all, what could
scare a vampire?  "Scary?" he said uncertainly.

      Nick smiled reassuringly.  "Yeah, but it's over quick enough.  Takes
only a few minutes."

      "Oh.  Well, OK.  I guess a few minutes isn't a big deal."  He thought
about it a moment longer, then nodded.  "I'm hungry," he declared, getting
up and heading out of the room.  He paused at the door and looked back.
"You want anything?"

      "No, but thank-you."  Joshua quirked a smile at him and disappeared
from view.  Nick sighed.  He wished there were some way to better prepare
Joshua for what was coming.  Because from what he'd been told, those few
minutes were going to be a very 'big deal'.

-Flashback-

Italy 1467

      The city was noisy with revelers as Nicholas and Lorenzo made their
way through the torch-lit streets.  "Happy Festival!" they called to a group
of young girls walking hand-in-hand.  Lorenzo's eyes followed them and he
nudged Nicholas pointedly.  Nicholas glanced back, then shook his head.

      "Too young for my taste.  Come, Lorenzo.  You were going to tell me
how you were brought across.  You said there was something extraordinary
about it."

      Lorenzo grinned and swayed drunkenly.  "Oh, yes, I did, didn't I?
Well, my friend, it wasn't really that, being brought across I mean, but
rather what happened soon afterward."  He paused to take yet another drink
of bloodwine.

      "You see, my master was rather young himself, no more than a century,
really, but I was very much in awe of him just the same.  Did I ever tell
you about how he-"

      "Lorenzo," Nicholas interrupted.  He had to get the truth out of
Lorenzo tonight, as this was the only time he had ever seen the other
vampire drunk, and he refused to talk about it when he was sober.  "What
happened after you were brought across?"

      "Oh, right, right, of course.  You needn't be impatient, you know.  I
was just going to-"

      "The story, Lorenzo," Nicholas reminded his friend firmly.

      "If you insist.  Anyway, as I said, my master was rather young, which
would explain why those awful mortals found us while we were asleep.
Someone had seen us go into the barn where we were hiding and got
suspicious.  It seems I had made quite a mess one night, though I don't
remember it... I was drunk."  His attitude had become quickly subdued.  He
looked at the bottle in his hand with look of sad contemplation, then set it
carefully on a low wall, and left it there.

      "He fought them, of course, but one of the scoundrels came up behind
him and stabbed him with a stake.  He died in an instant.  They were
satisfied that they had killed their 'monster', and never thought to look
for me, under the haystack.  They almost would have found me though.  I had
to bite my hand to keep from crying out.  He told me, when we heard them
outside, that I mustn't make any noise, no matter what.  And I didn't."
Lorenzo paused for a long moment, and then the alcohol took over again,
letting him continue to talk.

      "Anyway, word got around, though I don't suppose it really needed to,
and that night, my master's older brother shows up.  Much older brother."
Lorenzo laughed at own cleverness.  "He said his name was Antoine and he
would become my master now, because I was so very young, only a few weeks,
you see.  And he said that in order to become my master, he had to do
something called a re-bond.  I had no idea what he was talking about, and he
didn't explain.  He just did it and that was that."  The hilarity had passed
again, as quickly as it came.  Nicholas' eyes widened in disbelief.  This
was not what he had expected when he had asked Lorenzo about his past.  He
certainly hadn't known that Antoine wasn't Lorenzo's original master.

      "Truly?" Nicholas asked, partly in awe, "I had heard that such a thing
existed, but I have never met one to whom it happened.  What was it like?"

      Lorenzo stopped walking and looked at Nicholas very seriously, and, to
Nicholas' surprise, rather soberly.  "Think of the most horrible, terrifying
thing that has ever happened to you," he said quietly, "and then imagine
something ten times worse.  Add to that the inability to even try to fight
against it, and you will still have only the vaguest notion of what it was
like to be re-bonded."

      Nicholas was silent, trying to imagine.  He shuddered even as he
failed.  Lorenzo began to walk again, and Nicholas hurried to catch up.
They came onto the main thoroughfare and turned to walk to the building
where they were to meet LaCroix and Antoine.

      "Lorenzo," Nicholas hesitated, not sure he should continue, but
Lorenzo looked at him to as if to ask what he wanted.  "You say it was
horrible, but I know you love Antoine a great deal.  Was it worth it?  Would
you do it again?"   Lorenzo grinned as he waved at the two master vampires
waiting down the street.

      "Yes."

-End Flashback-




Joshua 13/15
      Nick helped Natalie off with her coat and tossed it over the back of
the couch.  She looked around expectantly.

      "So where's Josh?"

      "Asleep again."

      "Again?" Natalie asked incredulously.  "I thought you said he slept
all day, and most of the night.  How much sleep can one kid need?"

      Nick just shrugged.  "It's always that way.  They just sleep and feed
for a while."

      Natalie couldn't hide a smirk.  "Like any new-born, I guess."

      "I suppose, if you can call it that," Nick said with a shrug.  He
smiled at a sudden thought.  "Except that this lasts about three weeks
instead of a year and a half.  I made some coffee, I thought you'd be
tired."

      "You were right," Natalie said as she helped herself to a cup.  "So
what's this thing you couldn't talk about over the phone?"

      Nick frowned.  "Well, I'm not sure where to start.  It's kind of
complicated."

      "How about with 'what do you call it'?" Natalie suggested, settling
herself of one of Nick's overstuffed chairs.

      "The most common name for it is 're-bond'."  He smiled briefly.  "Mind
you, that's the English approximation of a French translation of Latin,
translated from who-knows-what.  A re-bond is only used when a vampire, for
one reason or another, 'adopts' a fledgling not their own.  In other words,
very rarely."

      Natalie nodded.  "All right.  So... what does it do?"

      "I told you about the bond that exists between vampires in the same
family, remember?"  He waited for Natalie's affirming nod.  "Joshua has that
bond with the person who brought him across, however weak it may be, which
is not very helpful to me or Josh.  The re-bond will do exactly what it
says; it will create a completely new bond, between him and me.  In the
process, the old one will be destroyed, freeing Josh from the other
vampire's influence."

      Natalie sat back, looking impressed.  "Sounds pretty important."

      "It is.  And I'm assuming that it will make his blood pretty similar
to mine."  He smiled teasingly.  "I didn't want your scientific mind to go
into overload the next time you took a sample from him and found it
completely changed."

      "Thank-you so very much for your concern," Natalie returned dryly.
"So how is this accomplished?  What do you do?"

      "I asked him that before," came a new voice.  They turned to see
Joshua emerging from his room with a shy smile.  "But he dodged the
question."

      Nick snorted softly.  "I hadn't thought you'd noticed."  Both

Joshua and Natalie simply looked at him for an answer.  He sighed and rubbed
the back of his neck nervously, then decided to pose his answer directly to
Joshua.

      "What do you remember about being brought across?"

      Joshua looked surprised at the question.  "Not much, it happened
pretty fast.  I remember it hurt some, then I blacked out."

      Nick nodded.  "OK, I guess I should start there, then.  When a person
is brought across, the vampire takes almost all the blood, then returns some
of their own to the body.  It happens by accident sometimes, like in your
case."  Joshua nodded his understanding.  "The thing is, unless the person
is near to death when they take in the vampire's blood, the effects are only
temporary.  In order for the re-bond to take hold, I'm going to have to do
the same thing.  In effect, you'll be brought across a second time."

      Joshua's eyes were hooded as he considered this, then he nodded
slowly.  "All right, then."

      Natalie looked at him uncertainly.  "You're OK with this?"

      Joshua shrugged.  "Sure.  I mean, it wasn't exactly fun the first
time, but Nick said it only takes a few minutes."  He went into the kitchen
looking for a snack.

      "Can we talk?"  Natalie asked, eyeing Nick suspiciously.  "Outside?"
Nick nodded and they took the elevator to the roof.  As soon as they exited,
Natalie turned on Nick.

      "Why didn't you tell him the rest?"

      "What do you mean?" Nick asked, not willing to admit anything until he
knew exactly what she was asking.

      "He clearly thinks this is going to be more or less like when he was
brought across, but you and I both know that that's not true.  Nick, I've
seen vampires suffering from blood loss."  She made an effort to lower her
voice before continuing.  "I've seen <you> suffering from blood loss.  It's
not quick and it's not pleasant!"

      "No, it isn't," Nick replied soberly, "and this won't be.  But it is
necessary.  And the less frightened Joshua is going into it, the easier it
will be."  Natalie looked like she was about to protest, then nodded in
surrender.

      "So how will you control him?  I mean...."

      "Vachon should be here anytime now.  I've asked him to help.  And I
was about to go and ask LaCroix to come too."  Natalie quirked an eyebrow at
this news but didn't question it.

      "Then you'd better hurry," she stated.  "The sun will be up in half an
hour."

      Nick realized she was right and decided he'd fly.  "Thanks.  You
should go home now.  I'll call you when it's over."  Natalie jumped a little
as he disappeared from her side.  Re-entering the loft she went to get her
coat, but Joshua stopped her.

      "Natalie?  Can I talk to you?" he asked uneasily.

      LaCroix was supervising the removal of the last few customers when he
felt his son's approach.  He waited patently until Nick had come inside.

      "Nicholas," he said smoothly, "how good of you to visit.  I've been
hearing quite a bit about you lately."

      Nick stood stiffly before his master.  "Then you've heard that I'm
taking in an abandoned fledgling."

      "Indeed I have.  Honestly, Nicholas, you never cease to surprise me.
A fledgling is perhaps the last news I expected to hear about you."  He
could sense that Nick was starting to get defensive, so he smoothly switched
tactics.  "Not that I disapprove.  Quite the contrary, in fact.  Perhaps it
will teach you some responsibility and do something to dispel your rather
annoying tendency towards melancholia."  Nick's anger had turned to
exasperation, which was fine by LaCroix.  His son tended to get stubborn
when he was angry.

      "LaCroix, can we skip the lecture for now?" Nick said, barely managing
not to roll his eyes.  "I need to ask you something."

      "Certainly, my boy.  What is it?"

      Nick forced himself to meet LaCroix's gaze evenly.  "I'm going to
re-bond Joshua today.  I was... hoping you'd come and help."

      LaCroix allowed his surprise to show.  He was silent for a moment,
respecting the enormity of the request, and the pride it had cost Nicholas
to ask.

      "I would be honored."





Joshua 14/15

      Nick and LaCroix arrived together at Nick's loft, barely beating the
sunrise.  Joshua was sitting on the back of the couch, trying not to look
apprehensive.  Vachon had arrived, but Nick was disconcerted to see Natalie
still there.

      "Nat," he said, pulling her aside, "you really should go home.  You
don't want to see this."

      Natalie shook her head firmly.  "I'm staying."  When Nick started to
protest, she shook her head again.  "Please don't argue.  I realize I'm in
way over my head here, but Josh asked me to, and I'm going to stay."

      Nick nodded reluctantly.  "Fine, then.  But go upstairs; you can watch
from the balcony.  Any closer wouldn't be safe."  Natalie complied.  Nick
turned around to see Vachon hiding a smile.  LaCroix looked both amused and
annoyed, but refrained from saying anything.

      "Joshua," Nick said with a quick gesture, "this is my father,
LaCroix."

      Joshua looked up uncertainly at the imposing figure and shifted his
weight nervously.  "Hello," he said quietly.

      LaCroix nodded shortly, then turned to look at Nick.  "Shall we
begin?"

      Nick nodded and led the way over to the low Japanese table he had
pulled out of storage earlier.  It was about 18 inches high, made of carved
granite and red coffery.  The top of the table was covered with a single
piece of perfect obsidian.  One end was propped up with a piece of cement.
"Take off your shirt, Joshua, and lay down near the edge."

      Joshua moved to obey.  "Why is one end higher then the other?" he
asked, pulling his T-shirt off.

      "To make the blood run to your head.  Your heart's not beating fast
enough to do it."

      "Looks like a sacrificial alter or something," Joshua muttered as he
carefully stretched out on the table, trying not to look scared.

      "Funny you should mention that," LaCroix replied wryly, ignoring
Nick's murderous glare.

      Nick knelt next to Joshua and spoke reassuringly.  "Just close your
eyes and try to relax."  Joshua did so, taking a deep breath and forcing the
muscles in his shoulders and back to relax.  Nick glanced up at LaCroix and
Vachon, standing on either side of the table.  Both nodded their readiness.

      Nick closed his eyes and took a deep breath, filling his mind with the
scent of Joshua's blood.  He felt the Vampire rise in him, hungry,
demanding.  Opening his eyes, he gently turned Joshua's head to the side,
exposing his neck.  He leaned over and bit carefully into the taut flesh,
beginning the red flow that would make Joshua his.  Forever.

      Despite his best efforts, Joshua had braced himself as Nick leaned
over him, preparing for the searing pain he remembered so well.  But fear
turned to shock as the first touch brought only a blinding ecstasy.  For
several moments he nearly forgot how to breath, and his own fangs lengthened
in response as he felt the blood gently drawn from his body.  He squeezed
his eyes shut, knowing perfectly well that he wasn't supposed to move, but
could not prevent himself from trembling under the onslaught of sensation.

      Natalie leaned over the balcony railing, watching the scene below her.
So far, nothing really seemed to be happening, though she couldn't really
tell.  Nick had begun draining Joshua, and she watched with fascination for
a few moments, then glanced at the other spectators.  Vachon looked like he
was just as curious as she was.  LaCroix was as impassive as ever.

      Nick continued to drink, fifteen years of memories flooding his
conciousness.  Joshua's mortal life flowed in and around him until he was
aware of little else. Memories surfaced and disappeared again, moments of
anger and love, of sorrow and joy, and through it all ran the ragged
innocence and painful sense of loss inherent to youth.  The last two weeks
slid by in a matter of moments: fear and loneliness and confusion, tempered
only by the growing trust Joshua held for his new friends.  He trusted them.
He trusted Nick.

      But Nick now felt something else stir, a part of the Vampire buried
deep and locked away behind bars of cold denial.  It was a hunger baser and
more vicious even then that which drove vampires to kill for their lives; it
was the province of only the most depraved of their kind.  Nick shoved it
away, all too aware of the danger.  It crept back, and again he beat it
down, not willing to allow it so much of a hairbreadth of leeway.  Because
it would be so easy.  So easy to simply take all, and kill the
fledgling-child.

      Joshua felt incredible.  He no longer felt anything but a wonderful
sleepy languor, riding high on a tide of euphoria.  So very sleepy... tiny
alarm bells began to go off in the back of his head, but he ignored them,
shooing them away like gnats.  But like gnats, they kept coming back.  He
found himself wondering; how long had this been going on?  Ten seconds?  Ten
minutes?  Longer?  He had no way of knowing, hadn't kept track.  Resolutely,
he pushed the thoughts back.  Nick knew what he was doing, he assured
himself.  Didn't he?

      Nick could taste Joshua's growing uneasiness, and mentally braced
himself.  Joshua tried to squirm a little, but Nick held him firmly,
wrapping his arm around Joshua's chest.

      <Hold still> Joshua begged himself as he realized that he was
beginning to shake, his instincts screaming at him to get away.  He could
feel his strength seeping away, the deadly weight in his limbs.  <Just a
little longer. >  He bit the inside of his lip and squeezed his eyes shut,
trying to fight off the terror that was quickly building inside of him.  It
was no use, he could feel his grip on reality begin to weaken as he opened
his eyes again and saw the dark shapes that seemed to swarm around him.
-no-   It started as such a small word, almost whispered, but it echoed
through his head, bouncing off his skull, growing stronger with each
repetition.  no-no-no-no-No-No-No-No-NO-NO-NO-NO-NOOOOOOOO!!!

      Joshua screamed as his mind slipped and he plunged into blind panic.
He thrashed once, almost dislodging Nick, before LaCroix and Vachon were on
him, pinning him to the table and making it impossible for him to move.
Even so, he struggled, every muscle straining against the impossibly strong
hands that held him immobile.  He screamed until his voice was raw and
beyond, a harsh sound that was painful just to hear.  Blood tears began to
course down his cheeks.

      The terror in the blood warped and twisted, became both pain and
pleasure to Nick; overwhelming, unstoppable.  It nearly shattered his
control.  With everything he had, he ignored it, shoved it aside and focused
only on the failing life, on sensing the exact moment between enough and too
much.

      Natalie sat scrunched up with her back against the balcony railing,
eyes screwed shut and hands covering her ears as tightly as possible.  It
didn't help; the sound penetrated the inadequate barrier and pierced her
mind.  She had heard those screams before, when she was an intern.  She was
on duty in the ER when the victim of a devastating car accident was brought
in, burned and horribly mangled.  He had screamed, too, not in pain, she had
realized, but in fear.  Because he was dying, and he knew it.

      Joshua struggled vainly, unable to do anything else, until his
strength was spent.  When he could struggle no more, he simply lay and
cried, not sobbing, but the helpless, empty cries of one who knows they are
lost.  And finally, having no strength left even for tears, he closed his
eyes, and waited for the darkness to come.

      Nick suddenly and deliberatly pulled back, gasping for breath and
shaking badly.   A few moments passed as he struggled to regain his presence
of mind.  After a deep, steading breath, he nodded to LaCroix and Vachon,
who moved away from the nearly-dead fledgling.  With great care, Nick
unbuttoned the sleeve of his shirt, opened the thick vein in his wrist with
his fangs, and put it to Joshua's mouth.  Time stood still as the blood
flowed over unreponsive lips; then Nick felt the slightest twitch of
movement.  Then another.  A small, convuslive swallow, then the weak, but
unmistakable, effort to suck.  The child swallowed again, and again; tiny,
precious amounts at first, then more as he gained strength.  His hands rose,
slowly, to grip Nick's wrist and pull it more firmly against his mouth.
Soon, his fangs re-emerged, and he tore at the flesh of Nick's wrist,
desperately trying to get more blood.  It wasn't enough.  With a growl of
frustration, he flung the arm away and!
 lunged, tearing at Nick's collar and sinking his fangs deep into his neck.
Nick simply wrapped his arms around the small vampire and let him feed.
With one hand, he gently stroked Joshua's hair as he murmured both apologies
and reassurances.

      Natalie let out a long, shaky breath as she peered through the bars of
the railing.  Her head was spinning, and she wasn't sure she entirely
remembered how to breathe, but it seemed to be over.  Movement caught her
eye, and she looked over to see Vachon rise.  Or start to; he rose halfway,
faltered, then stood on shaky legs.  He was whiter then she'd ever seen a
vampire before, and seemed none too steady as he snatched up one of the
bottles of blood from beside the low table and downed half the contents in
one swallow.  Curious, she glanced at LaCroix.  He stood to the side,
watching Nicholas and his new son, but his face was carefully neutral; his
eyes betrayed nothing.  <What in the world is he thinking? >

      After a minute or so, Nick gently pushed Joshua away and pressed a
bottle of blood into his hand, then proceeded to feed as well.  When he was
sated, Joshua fell into the deep sleep that always accompanied First Hunger.
Nick picked him up and carried him into his room, laying him carefully on
his bed.  When he returned to the living room, Natalie had descended the
stairs and was collecting her coat and purse.  Nick moved to meet her as she
started to the door.  She looked up, not bother to hide the slight tremor in
her smile.

      "I think... I had better go home now," she said carefully.  Then she
collected herself and nodded behind him.  "It looks like you've got enough
company to keep you occupied for the day."  Nick grimaced slightly at the
observation, making Natalie smile as she left.

      Nick's head was buzzing and he really didn't want to deal with this.
He turned around, wondering what he was going to do with the two extra
vampires for the day.  Vachon had already taken care of himself; he had
flopped down on the carpet in front of the fireplace and was already asleep,
leaving only LaCroix.

They just looked at each other for a moment before Nick decided to be
gracious.

      "You can take the upstairs, if you like."

      LaCroix shook his head.  "Indeed not, Nicholas.  I will be quite
comfortable on the couch, and you have worn yourself out."  Nick allowed a
small smile of gratitude before climbing wearily to his room.

      In the darkness of a room sealed from sunlight, Janette was sitting on
a plush couch, holding her head.  <What in the world was THAT? >  She poured
herself an extra glass of her 'Special Reserve' to steady her nerves.

      The raw emotion that had poured through her bond with Nicholas was
unlike anything she had ever felt before.  After a moment's thought, she
picked up the telephone sitting on the side table and dialed a number.

      "Yes, Robert, it's me.  I'm afraid I will be unable to accompany you
to the theater this evening, something has come up.... No, it's completely
unavoidable; I must go out of town....  You might say it's a family
emergency....  Yes, I will call when I return.... Thank-you, Robert.  Tell
Patrick I said 'hello'.  Good-bye."  She hung up with a sigh.  <Mon frere,
what are you up to this time?>




Joshua 15/15
      The first thing Joshua was aware of was warmth.  All-over,
inside-to-out warmth.  It wasn't that he had been cold before, just that he
was now warm, and he liked it.  The second thing he was aware of was a
Presence nearby.  He opened his eyes and saw Nick sitting on a chair beside
the bed, watching him.  He sat up carefully, one hand to his head.  When the
expected headache failed to appear, he looked groggily at Nick, then down at
himself, then back at Nick.

      "I'm still alive?"

      Nick smiled a little at the sleepy surprise in his voice.  "Insofar as
it goes, yes."

      Joshua seemed even more confused.  "I think I remember... dying.  Or I
thought I had died."

      "Almost.  That's what had to happen for it to work."  Nick looked
intently at the boy.  "I would not have let you die," he said quietly.
Joshua thought for a moment.

      "I think... I know that."  There was silence for a moment.

      "You're hungry," Nick said.  It wasn't a question.  Joshua just
nodded.  Nick picked up a bottle and a glass that he had set on the floor
and poured Joshua a drink.  Joshua drank quickly and held out the glass for
a refill.  After two more glassfuls, he was full.  Nick took the glass back,
but didn't leave his chair.

      "Now go back to sleep."  Joshua started to lay back down, but stopped
and looked at Nick, a question in his eyes; a desire he didn't understand
well enough to voice.  Nick understood.  He motioned for Joshua to scoot
over, sat beside him on the bed, and offered his wrist.  Joshua looked at
him uncertainly; he's never fed this way except through sheer instinct.  At
Nick's nod, he took Nick's wrist in one hand and bit.  Though far too young
and inexperienced to see the memories in the blood, he quickly realized that
this was the source of the warmth he felt.

      He let go when he felt Nick tug his wrist away.  "If you gorge
yourself, you'll be sick," Nick warned gently.  Joshua smiled, sleep already
reclaiming him as he lay down.  Nick pulled the covers up around him and
brushed the hair off his forehead, recalling LaCroix's advice before he left
that evening.

      "Be careful how you treat this fledgling.  You are his master, and
therefore his role model.  What you say and do in the next few days will
determine who he will be for his first century, at least, and perhaps
forever.  Do not underestimate the influence you have over him, it is not to
be taken lightly."

      Nick had been surprised at LaCroix's seeming interest-- and even more
surprised that he said nothing more-- but had seen the sense in what he
said.  He smiled at his sleeping son.  <Careful, indeed. >

End

That's it, folkies!  I'm going to be blatant again: if you think I should
keep this one going, WRITE ME!  Praise, comments, questions, constructive
critisism, and suggestions as to what should happen next are ALWAYS welcome!
Flames will be sent to poor Mindi shivering in New York. <G>

"Eternal nights too short,
How quickly melt away,
With all the love we shared once,
Forever in a Day."