Today...Tomorrow...Forever By StormyNite Written in January 2001 3rd Season time line. This episode takes place after Fever and & Night in Question. New Characters: Julian Blackwell & Rachel O'Leary FK Cast: Nick, Nat, LaCroix, Vachon, Tracy & Captain Reese Part 1 It was well past midnight and she knew she shouldn't be out here alone. Melissa searched the area as she walked. The loud scream shattered the silence of the cool night breeze and she turned toward it, instantly afraid. The earth began to quake beneath her feet as the ground gave way to the explosion that started beneath the surface and shot toward the night sky in a ball of flame. Melissa froze in her tracks as the second explosion made the ground tremble in defeat as the asphalt cracked like a spider's web while she watched in horror. Out of the chaos came a lone figure cloaked by the wisps of smoke, becoming clearer as it approached. Certain she should run but unable to make her feet obey, Melissa froze in place as the dark figure stepped clear of the ball of flame lighting the night sky. Flowing, curly, black hair graced strong shoulders as the figure glided out of the madness. The wind caught the tail of a long leather coat making it billow in the breeze like a bird readying for flight. The lone figure stopped, stared at Melissa and listened for only a moment until bright green eyes locked with hers. Melissa gasped, then fainted. ---------------------- "Nick you are going to have to talk about it sooner or later. This has been going on too long." Tracy said in frustration at her silent partner. "Nick?" "Nothing has changed, Trace. My personal life is just that." He turned to her angrier than he should have been, but his injuries still hadn't healed. "Right! I'm just suppose to ignore the injured shoulder you won't explain, the ribs that caused you to gasp for air when Miller bumped you in the hallway. All personal...nothing related to work and you're not going to explain it. What is this the 5th time in the last 3 months you've came into work injured...and let's not mention the fact that you won't even go to the morgue? Margaret thinks you don't trust her work and is totally paranoid around you when she's in the precinct. You've got to go get her or get over it!" Her tone of voice had gotten harsher than she intended, but enough was enough. It had been 10 months. Angry blue eyes greeted hers as he stopped the car at the scene. "I do my job, Trace. Nothing else is required the last time I checked. We're partners...that's it!" He jumped out of the car and regretted his words the moment they left his lips, but he couldn't afford for her to get too close. Better for her to move on now than become a close friend as Schanke had been. This was only temporary until LaCroix decided he was bored. At least this way, he had his memories to keep him sane and close to her. LaCroix couldn't take those away even though he'd tried. A flash of her smile and her bright blue eyes graced his memory causing him to sigh in relief. She'd always given him peace...even when she wasn't here. Maybe that's why he'd fallen for her in the first place. He shook the thought from his mind because he knew it was more than that. That's why the pain in his heart was still growing. What they had was more than that...more than a feeling, more than passion or lust. It was love and he would treasure it for eternity until the time was right. He sighed and headed for the scene. Men are such idiots. Why couldn't he admit how much he missed her and go get her. He knew where she was. Tracy had searched Nick's desk one night when he was late because she was worried. There was a picture of Natalie and a tall dark man walking down the street, the Vancouver Bank's window shown brightly in the photograph. Nick hadn't willingly let her go. He was protecting her from something...She would have bet money on it. Resigning herself to her fate, Tracy jumped out of the car and headed for the woman sitting huddled in a blanket. "Hi, Ellen." Tracy said softly as she knelt down on the ground by the trembling woman and the young paramedic. She stared at the paramedic and Ellen smiled and nodded. Her condition was okay. "Can you tell me your name?" Tracy touched her arm gently, trying to make the young woman pay attention. "Meliss...a" She said brokenly. "It's Melissa Morgan." "Do you live around here, Melissa?" "I work down the street. I had to finish a report for my boss before he leaves in the morning. I'm not usually down here this late, but I lost track of the time and I..." She stared at the smoke as if she expected someone to jump out at her. "You work in the office building across the street?" Tracy jotted a few notes. "What did you see?" She knew the girl had seen something. She was way to nervous too just have been near the explosion. "I...I...saw a woman. It was like she walked out of the fire and then the sky exploded. She was beautiful...but...." "...but what, Melissa?" Tracy tried to make her focus. "Scary...she was beautiful and scary. When she looked at me, it was like she knew me intimately. She looked right through me. At first it was warm and peaceful, then it became frightening." Melissa twisted her hands in each other as she talked. "I guess I'm a coward. I passed out. That's the last thing I remember until the policeman over there found me. Are they all dead?" "All who, Melissa?" "All the people...all the bad people." Melissa's voice broke as she spoke softly. "How do you know there were people in the warehouse, Melissa? How do you know if they were bad?" Tracy looked at her skeptically becoming leery of the fragile woman before her. "I...I...I don't know...unless she told me." Melissa whispered confused. "I just know they were bad." She turned frightened eyes toward Tracy and began to weep. Nick walked up silently beside them unnoticed. He pulled Tracy aside. "They found the remains of 6 bodies on the ground floor. It was a meth lab. One of the bodies was Nathan Coswell. He has a rap sheet a mile long for possession, intent, assault, and 2nd degree murder. He's been out on probation less than 3 months. Rumor on the street had him going big time with the Carzetti group. If I'm guessing one of those bodies is Mort Carzetti himself. We won't know for sure until the dental records come back. Arson says the explosion stared below ground and hit a natural gas line. It was fast and fatal. Fire department says the whole thing took less than 2 minutes from first to final explosion and we're lucky it didn't take the whole block with it. The last explosion sealed the open gas line or this whole neighborhood wouldn't be here." Nick stared at the weeping woman. "If someone was in there when the first blast hit, they wouldn't have walked out of the building, at least no one with normal capabilities. If she saw a woman walk out of the building, it had to be before the first blast." He motioned to the girl still sitting on the ground. "Let's get her calmed down and maybe we'll get a better description of what went on and who we have to thank for ridding this town of some of it's untouchable filth." Nick made no effort to hide his dislike for the Carzetti group. Tracy felt much the same after the last time Carzetti's group walked out of the precinct laughing. The Carzettis sold drugs to kids and got away with it. Tracy glanced at the still smoldering building and smiled. Yes, there was no love lost nor would they be missed in this city, but they had a job to do whether they agreed with it or not. Minutes later they crawled back into the green bomb and headed for the precinct. End Part 1 All comments to: Part 2 Natalie stood at the window staring out at the morning sunrise. Memories danced at the fringes of her mind, but she refused to give into them. This was not the time or the place. She'd been at the hospital all night and each minute longer she waited only told her she was right. The sun cascaded across the floor warming her skin to the touch and bringing her hair to life, but it meant nothing...not now...maybe never. The door swished behind her and she turned to meet a grim face. "It's not good is it, Jason?" She fought the tears bravely, but she was losing the battle. "I have to be honest with you, Natalie. Her little body is fighting valiantly, but she's losing. We transfused her with your blood and saw a temporary relief, but it won't last. " Jason pulled her hands into his in consolation. "She's a beautiful child and we've bought some time. Maybe the lab will find something to negate the effect of the abnormality. We can pray for a miracle." He watched a single tear slide down Natalie's cheek and it made his heart sick. She was such a beautiful person both inside and out. Why did this have to happen to her? "We'll work night and day looking for something that will help. We have the best research teams in the country here. You know that...you're part of it. Try to be positive. It will help Nicole." "Thanks, Jason. Is she in pain?" A mother's fear was written in her eyes. "Not since we gave her your blood. It seems to stop her body from going into shock. I think if you give her about 25cc of your blood every 24 hours, she'll be in no pain. It beats giving her narcotics at her age." He looked at her trying to be positive. "Every 24hours? I'll take care of it. Thank you for your efforts, Jason. It means a lot to me." She smiled sadly and brushed away another tear. "I'm going to take Nicole home now and spend whatever time we have left together." Jason nodded his understanding and they headed down the hall. --------------- Vachon stopped to light a cigarette. Odd, he thought as he took a drag on the offending object, that he could still savor the taste of them after all the centuries. The warm buzz he always felt when their kind was near caught his attention so he stepped into the alley to check it out. A scream ripped the silence of the night, causing chills to touch the hair on the backs of his arms and then nothing. He ran toward the group at the end of the alley. He stopped as she turned and stepped over the body. Blood still coated the stake in her hand, but she seemed to ignore it as her green eyes focused intently on his. She walked toward him seductively, letting the soft leather of her pants brush each other as she walked. Her bright red lips and wild hair gave the opposite appearance of what he felt. Warmth filled with a pleasant tingling sensation made him relax so he pushed into it. She smiled and stopped less than 3 feet away. "You haven't chosen yet, have you?" Her voice was like a caress and he was not immune. She stepped closer and concentrated on the connection between them. Vachon stumbled backwards, but didn't fight her. Instinct told him it would have been useless. She smiled again, letting it flood her face with a beauty that was almost ethereal in nature. Vachon was mesmerized by the change. "What...are you?" He whispered in awe. She reached out to touch his cheek before she spoke. In a sensual caress, she slowly trailed her fingertips down his cheek. "You have a chance given the right circumstances. The good is still within you. Try to find it before it's too late." She turned and walked seductively down the alley totally unafraid of anything he might choose to do. When she turned the corner, the spell was broken and Vachon gasped for air. Only then did he notice the body of Zacharia lying face down in his own blood with a stake through his heart. Not sure what exactly to do, Vachon reached down and picked up his limp body and tossed him over his shoulder. Seconds later he was airborne with one destination in mind. ------------- LaCroix's anger was not appeased. He smashed the barstool into the floor and grabbed the bottle of blood on the bar. He downed it in one gulp. Blood trailed down his face, but he ignored it. Each time it became more difficult, each time his injuries were worse as well as Nicholas'. This was gaining him nothing. He smashed the empty bottle into the mirror and watched it shatter. It had to stop. A noise caught his attention and Ismal appeared. "What is it?" LaCroix hissed not ready to handle any more tedious community problems tonight. "There's been another, General!" Ismal stated sadly. "Justin was found in his bed tonight," he hesitated then continued on, "...with a wood stake in his heart. He's the 3rd this week." "Fourth," Vachon stated flatly as he dropped Zacharia's body onto the floor in front of them. Ismal quickly looked over the body and turned questioning eyes toward Vachon. "It was a woman...a very beautiful woman." Vachon stated without emotion. "You saw her and didn't stop her?" Ismal lunged at Vachon only to be batted away like an insect. Ismal was barely 100 and not strong to begin with. "She could have killed me as well. She isn't mortal...she is..." He thought for a moment and couldn't put his feelings into words. "...I have no idea what she is. I know she isn't a vampire and she isn't mortal, so I don't know what that leaves us with." Vachon looked to LaCroix for any sign of understanding. LaCroix sat his new bottle down slowly then disappeared. Moments later he returned with a photograph. He handed it to Vachon without a word. The photographed was yellowed with age, but her undeniable eyes penetrated the black and white of the picture creating the same sense of warmth he'd felt earlier. He gasped in recognition of the feeling. "You already know it's her. Who is she?" His curiosity was more than peaked. LaCroix took the photograph from his hands and stared into her eyes. A cold chill ran down his spine and a sense of dread filled his heart. She had returned and he was certain he knew why. There was always a reason, always a pattern to her visits. An image of her standing over a close friend 2 centuries earlier flashed in his mind. He pushed it aside. "Spread the word...no killing for any reason...no new members to the community or they answer to me!" He turned and walked back into his private quarters. Vachon noticed the bar and the bloodstains in several locations then studied LaCroix's back as he disappeared. He turned to Ismal already knowing the answer before he asked. "I assume Nick was here earlier." Ismal snorted in disgust. "They better get their differences worked out soon or the whole community is leaving. Hell, they probably should anyway at this point. We got the General and his son, the two most powerful vampires in the entire region at each other's throats on a weekly basis. The Enforcers are watching us all like hawks because of it...and now we have a maniac on the loose killing vampires as well as mortals." He stared at Zacharia's body. "I think I'll take him down to the pier and let the sun burn him to ashes in the morning, then I'm out of here." He leaned over and picked up the still body and took to the night. Vachon walked into the night air and breathed deeply. He noticed Nick's car sitting unattended at the curb. He reached into the stillness to see if he could find him and was greeted with a familiar sensation. He walked toward the alley behind the Raven and saw him leaning against the back wall. "Nick?" There was no answer and it concerned him. He approached cautiously. The sight before him made him cringe. "Damn it, Nick!" Vachon touched Nick's bloodied shoulder and he gasped in pain. Blood poured from the wound over his eye and the hole in his right shoulder. Dark stains were obvious on his pants both front and rear and he was betting what was beneath was not for the meek. "Come on, Nick. Let me help you?" He tried to put an arm around him only to have Nick hiss in anger. "Don't!" The word was a command, not an option and Vachon felt Nick's power flood the alley without hesitation. He'd been using all his concentration to help him heal, but the pain was winning over an 800-year old creature of the night. Even Nick had his limits. Vachon stared at him intently. If the pain was this bad now, he couldn't imagine what it had been like 30 minutes earlier or what it took for him to make it this far. "Let me take you home, Nick." He offered, unafraid of Nick for the first time since he'd met him. Nick took one step and collapsed in his arms. "Great! In the middle again. I wonder when I'm going to learn." -------------- Vachon laid Nick gently on the couch and lit the fire. With that done, he headed for the fridge and found a full supply of the Raven's best stock. Vachon glanced back at the mysterious vampire that he'd secretly admired for over a year. "Guess you aren't a total masochist after all, Nick. At least I won't have to drink that swill you usually drink." He grabbed two bottles and headed for the couch. Pressing one bottle to Nick lips, he let the fluid drain down the back of his throat. Nick moaned in appreciation. When the bottle was half empty, Vachon took a deep swallow for himself, then started checking Nick over. He tore open his shirt to find the remnants of a wood stake broken off in his right side. It oozed blood as his body tried to expel it as it healed. Vachon pulled him forward and shoved the stake through to the back. Nick barely moved in the process. Vachon tore it free from his body and Nick screamed in agony. Blood covered Nick's back and trousers leaving no doubt that he'd been whipped then sodomized. Vachon grimaced at the sight. "I hope she's worth is, Nick. I hope she's worth it!" His voice was filled with sympathy and disgust. He laid him down carefully then poured another bottle of blood down his throat and decided Nick needed more help than he could give. He picked up the nearby phone and dialed the only person he knew in town that might help. Shauna answered on the second ring. End Part 2 Part 3-Adult Rated R for Violence and Male/Male Rape Scene Three Nights Later: "I know what I saw, Captain!" The woman was calm but frustrated as she glared at Captain Reese sitting across from her. "He took the baby from the woman and disappeared. I heard her scream the word 'NO! I didn't imagine it. She was in her early thirties, auburn hair to her shoulders, very curly and very beautiful under the streetlight. I saw her face. She was terrified and he was cold and ruthless, tall, all dressed in black with very short hair. It was gray or white or something in-between. He was older...maybe in his 50's and she fought him for the child. He was so strong and threw her across the alley. I mean...threw her total body like she weighed nothing across an opening that was at least 10 feet wide. When I got to her side he was gone and the body at my feet was a man." She turned confused eyes to Tracy. "It was a woman...you have to believe me and that crazy man has her child!" Genuine fear was written on her face. "It's okay Ms. Fallcrest. We're checking into it. We'll find this madman. Don't worry." Tracy patted her shoulder in comfort. "Thank you for coming in, Ms. Fallcrest. We'll be in touch if we need anything else." Reese stood and opened the door for the woman. When he closed the door, worried eyes met Tracy's. "You don't really believe that story, do you, Cap?" Tracy sat down in the vacant chair and crossed her legs in comfort. "The guy in the morgue is just that...a guy. He wasn't wearing women's clothes and he was at least 6'3" tall. Now I can hardly believe you could mistake him for a petite redhead in the streetlight that was shining in that alley when we got there. Nick is checking out the neighboring buildings to see if we've got any other witnesses." Reese tossed her two more files across the desk. She picked them up and scanned them quickly. "As you can see from these, Detective Vetter. I have every reason to believe this woman. Either that or there is an epidemic of crazy people walking our streets seeing an auburn haired petite woman having her child kidnapped." "Captain, these are more than 6 miles apart and supposedly happened within 5 minutes of each other. This isn't possible." Tracy stared at him confused. Reese headed for the door. "Crazy or not, Detective, the descriptions are identical. You and Nick have clearance from all three precincts. You will be working with Arnold and Mason at the 96th and Lyle and Johnson at Castle Rock. We need answers...believable answers and I don't want to hear any talk of magic or the supernatural. Next thing I know they will be sending me a psychic or something. I want reality and so does the commissioner. We've got 3 male bodies, with 3 eyewitnesses claiming them all to be a woman. Figure it out and do it quick!" He opened the door and headed for the water cooler shaking his head as he mumbled something unintelligible under his breath. ------------- Natalie bundled Nicole up tightly as she unloaded her from the car. Rachel appeared behind her with a smile. "Can I help, Nat?" She pulled the door open wider for her as Natalie unhooked the safety seat in the car and pulled Nicole out. "Thanks, Rachel. You could grab that bag of groceries and the diaper bag. That would be a great help." Nat smiled in appreciation, but the hole in her heart was getting larger and the sadness was reflected in her eyes. "Not good news from the docs?" Rachel said softly, filled with sadness for her friend and tenant. Natalie just nodded and headed for the apartment. Rachel grabbed the two bags and followed her. Natalie balanced Nicole in the carrier on her hip and unlocked the door. Once inside Sydney wrapped his warm furry body around her legs as a cheerful greeting. "We missed you too, Syd," Natalie cooed to the cat as she sat the baby down and uncovered her. Nicole's bright smile greeted her and she looked better. Her soft skin was pink and flushed for a change. Apparently the blood transfusion had helped a great deal. Her breathing was normal and she seemed the picture of health for a 3-month old. "She looks much better, Nat. The docs must have found something that helped. " Rachel brushed the stray lock of blond hair from the baby's face. "She has such beautiful hair for an infant. Most of them are bald at this age, and I've never seen a baby have teeth at 3 months. Must be a real challenge breastfeeding her." Rachel continued to smile at Nicole and let the baby clasp her little finger in her tight grasp. "I need a favor, Rachel." Natalie handed her Nicole, which she gladly accepted. "Anything you need, Nat. You know that." Rachel bounced Nicole until she giggled. She had a way with children and men. "I need you to take care of Sydney for me for awhile. Nicole and I have to make a trip." She eyed her friend and landlord closely, hoping she wouldn't ask. Rachel O'Leary read the signs well. "I'm hoping this means what I think, but I won't ask. You know I'll take care of Syd and the apartment as well as anything else you need." She smiled hopefully saying a silent prayer. "You need a ride to the airport?" "I don't know what I'd do without you, Rachel. When I know all the answers, you'll be the first person I tell. I don't have much time according to the doctors. We're going to catch a flight tonight and we'd love a ride to the airport. Could you call Jason and Marie for me and tell them we'll be gone for awhile, too?" Rachel smiled and nodded. ----------------- LaCroix paced the floor and drank straight from the bottle. The community was in a state of panic, everyone except Vachon and Nicholas. Vachon seemed to be touched by some inner peace. He was convinced this woman meant him no harm and Nicholas was beyond caring one way or another if he lived another night. He was going through the motions fulfilling their agreement and nothing more. LaCroix drifted back to that night. *************flashback*********** Nick paced in front of the fireplace, becoming more agitated as he walked. His memory had returned as well as the guilt, but he had more pressing problems. LaCroix's exchange of blood with him in the hospital had given him first hand knowledge of his true feelings. Blood never lies and there was a debt to be repaid. Natalie's beautiful face floated in front of him. He loved her and his body had responded even when he didn't know her name. He'd relived that night he came home from the hospital a thousand times and he still couldn't fathom a world without her, but it would have to be. There was only one thing LaCroix wanted more than revenge. Nick cringed at the thought, but he would gladly pay the price if it meant Natalie's freedom. As if his thoughts brought the ancient vampire to his side, LaCroix appeared beside him. "It would appear your memory has completely returned, Nicholas." LaCroix's face remained unreadable as he sat down in the large chair opposite the fireplace. He raised a knowing eye and waited. Nick stared at his master as he said a silent prayer, but still held his silence. Finally LaCroix smiled and pulled out a flask. "I hope you don't mind, but I brought my own." He took a small swallow and let the taste of the blood linger on his tongue in satisfaction. "Name your price, LaCroix, and I'll pay it." LaCroix offered his flask to Nick and he took it. Downing a quick swallow as he waited. "The price is as promised, Nicholas...a love for a love just as we agreed. There will be no denials now. I must admit you pulled off a stellar performance in the garden at the Azure. You had me convinced." He lunged and slammed Nick hard into the stone of the fireplace. "The Doctor now belongs to me to do with as I please. I must admit I'm intrigued with her myself. Maybe I'll bring her across and make her my slave for all eternity and make you watch." He watched the pain flash in his son's eyes causing him to smile evilly. "Yes, that would be fitting and maybe she'll be more appreciative of my gift than you ever were. Maybe she'll find my bed far more comfortable than yours. Maybe I'll let you watch as I claim her body over and over again until she screams for mercy and then...I'll kill her." He released Nick's neck and stepped back. "Then your debt will be repaid and you can live with yet another death on your conscience for eternity. Maybe then you'll know what it feels like to live in this world without the one thing that makes you whole. The one thing in this world that could have saved your soul from eternal damnation." Nick raised an eye in skepticism. "You didn't think I really cared about the others, did you. Only the one that captures your heart has the power to defeat the evil within you. No...Nicholas you traded away your one chance at salvation centuries before you ever knew you wanted it back." The smug look on his face only served to irritate Nick more. "My chance is gone forever and yours shall be as well. I will enjoy taking her and knowing that you are going to suffer the same torture I've felt for the past 8 centuries...That every day you're alive you could have shared something wonderful, something filled with the passion that we crave beyond all else and can't have." He turned his back on his wayward son totally awash in the powerful emotions he felt from Nick. Pain and fear cascaded over him like the waves of the ocean filled with a throbbing need. He basked in the feeling and wanted more. He craved it beyond anything else he'd ever experienced and only Nicholas' could give it to him. His son, his progeny was both mortal and vampire and only his emotions filled the void deep within him. For centuries he'd tried to find others, but Nicholas was different. He'd never lost his soul and the warmth all vampires craved from mortals flowed freely in his son's veins...even now. How could he not see it? "Do you hate me that much?" Nick's words were barely a whisper in the silence of the room, but LaCroix heard clearly. Nick's words hurt him more than he thought possible. He gasped slightly before he caught himself and placed that stoic façade back in place. He took another swig from his flask. "You are my son. Hate is for the mortal world not ours. You've lived among them too long. It is time you accept the difference." "My life for hers, LaCroix." Nick stated calmly and waited. LaCroix was on him in seconds, slamming him back into the hard stone once more. "She is mine and so are you!" He hissed in anger. No fear registered on his face, because his words were true. "If you kill her, I will walk into the sun. If you bring her across, I will have lost her and lost the only thing in my life worth saving. Either way, I will finish what should have happened 8 centuries ago and you will have to find something else that makes you feel alive. If losing my sister caused you this much pain, then I deserve to be punished, but not Natalie. She's done nothing but help our kind since she found out about our existence. You want to repay her for saving the community from certain death in the fever epidemic by killing her to exact your revenge on me. Punish me LaCroix for denying you Fleur...not Natalie." Uncontrollable rage overwhelmed him and sucked the oxygen from his lungs. Pure power washed through the room and he knew he had a chance. "Punish me, LaCroix. Punish me for eternity if it pleases you. You wanted me at your side, you have it...But only if Natalie lives and goes on with her life." Red flashed in his eyes as he lost control for the first time in centuries. He tossed Nick across the room putting him through the wall. He was on him before he had time to roll free of the debris. Slamming Nick up against the kitchen wall, he tore his shirt free from behind. He planted his fangs deep within Nick's neck and tore his fingers into his pale flesh crushing ribs and organs until Nick screamed in agony. He drank the sweet nectar of his son's emotions that ran so freely and he was lost to the feel of it. Nick's pain only made it sweeter and he wanted more. He wanted total submission. Feeling his son weaken, he tore his pants free with one hand and crushed him into the wall as he continued to drink. Without hesitation and totally aroused, he impaled his son with his now stiff shaft. When Nick cried out in pain, he rammed it harder inside Nick's unwilling body. "Not exactly what you had in mind, Nicholas." He hissed into Nick's ear when he released his neck and plunged deeper into Nick's already torn rectal tissue. "I haven't had anyone this way in centuries. I'd forgotten just how gratifying it feels. Your life for my pleasure at your own free will for the Good Doctor's." He sank his fangs back into Nick's neck and tore open his side until it bled freely over his hands as he continued to brutalize him. "Done!" He hissed as he continued to sodomize Nick until he blacked out...only then did the rage disappear. Nick lay silently in LaCroix's arms on the floor. Blood flowed freely from most of his orifices. All Nick's ribs were crushed and probably several major organs. Blood covered most of his own body as well as Nick's. A pain he'd thought long gone made his chest ache in regret. "What have you made me do, Nicholas?" His own words echoed through the silent room etching permanently into his mind forever. ***************end flashback*********** End Part 3 All comments to: Part 4 ---------------- Tracy walked up the steps inside the church. She could hear nothing and wasn't even sure Vachon was around, but something strange was going on. The crowd at the Raven was almost non- existent. The streets were deserted since the news media had gotten wind of the supernatural aspect of the mysterious woman seen at two major crime scenes involving the death of 15 members of the drug community. Whoever this dark-haired woman was, she obviously had her own agenda. There wasn't a body identified that shouldn't have been put behind bars years ago. The legal system had failed again, but apparently this mystery woman wasn't concerned with the technicalities of the law. And just what did the kidnapping have to do with this woman? Instinct told her they were connected. Nick agreed with her, but neither of them could see the connection. She opened the top door to find Vachon just sitting and staring into space while he drank. He was a long way from where he sat. "Vachon?" She touched his shoulder gently. Startled, he finally began to come back to reality. "Trace, what are you doing here?" His Spanish accent more prevalent today than usual. "I need to talk to you." She waited a second and then rushed into it. She was certain she sounded insane because it sounded that way even when she put it down on paper. "There have been several unexplainable accidents killing over 15 drug dealers. I guess you heard about the explosion the other night? Well, in any case there has been a dark-haired woman seen both times walking away from the scene. She supposedly has very strange eyes...almost unhuman-like." She hesitated and watched his reaction. He knew something. "You know something about her, don't you?" She knelt down in front of him quickly. "Why do you care, Trace? I thought you said they were drug dealers. Not what I'd say upstanding citizens." "Because it's my job to protect everyone, not just the good guys...and..." "What else?" He made her look at him instead of the floor by lifting her chin. "There have been three more murders, all very strange. Each time there is a reliable witness that swears an auburn-haired petite woman is having her baby kidnapped. When they try to help, they only see a dark haired woman disappearing around the corner and the dead body of a man instead of this woman with the child. They're connected, we just can't prove it! Nick and I have been working around the clock to find some believable answers, but there just aren't any." She stated sadly and sighed. "So you think just because it's weird and strange, I would know about it?" He raised a questioning eye. "Vachon, I'm just asking for some help here. You always said I'm too independent for my own good. So far only bad guys are suffering, but it could change any minute. We need to find this woman and we need to know if a baby really has been kidnapped. It's a child, Vachon. I know you aren't that cold not to care about children." Her eyes searched his for confirmation and she saw it instantly. She sighed in relief and smiled. Vachon rose and headed for the small refrigerator in the back. It was all too confusing. Maybe two minds were better than one. Then he thought about Nick. Nick was well aware of the state of the community and what he'd seen a few nights ago in the alley. They were all connected to this woman. He couldn't help but feel most people weren't in danger. This was the first he'd heard of the kidnapped baby though. "Tell me about the woman with the baby. Does anyone know her? What about the man who takes the child?" "That's just it, Vachon. She isn't there when the witnesses get to the body. They swear this man in black takes an infant from her arms as she's screaming. He then tosses her across the alley into a wall. They rush to help her and find that it's a man instead of the woman...and he's always dead. They see a dark- haired woman in a flowing coat walking away from the scene...but only from the back. It could be a man but most are positive it's a woman. They can't explain why they know, but they're positive." Vachon sat down beside her and told her what he'd seen, the photograph the General had shown them and the order given to the community. All those vampires destroyed were renegades and troublemakers. Many members of the community had already left and those that hadn't were in hiding. "I didn't feel rage or anger from her, Trace. She wasn't vampire or mortal. I don't know what she is, but she hasn't attacked anyone in the community that wasn't already in trouble or been warned by the Enforcers. When she came close too me, I felt peaceful and content for the first time in centuries. It was pleasant and I wasn't afraid at all. She said I hadn't decided yet. That I still had good in me." He looked at her hopefully. "Do you think that's possible?" Tracy smiled. "Of course I do. Just don't try to hide it so much. You're a good guy when you want to be, Javier Vachon. Why else would I spend any time with you." She rose and headed for the door. "You'll keep me informed if you hear anything else that might be helpful?" She asked hopefully, "Are you going to tell me who this General is?" He smiled and she left. ------------- The woman sat quietly wringing her hands as she waited for Captain Reese to return. Nick walked into the interrogation room with him. "Now would you please go over this one more time for my detective here, Mrs. Ess. I just want to make sure we've got this correctly. " He sat down beside her and Nick sat across the table. Tracy had slipped into the observation room moments later. "Well I was walking my little dog, Poko, when I heard her scream. I'm not very agile anymore, but she sounded so distraught when she screamed 'NO' at the top of her lungs. I turned the corner and there they were. This tall man all dressed in black with this angry look on his face and there she was this pretty little red- haired woman clutching the baby to her breast. I yelled 'Stop that!' and he turned to look at me. His eyes were like ice and she was crying and kicking him trying to keep her baby. He pulled the baby from her arms then batted her away like she was a fly. Poor thing...she was so pretty. I started toward her as fast as I could. When I looked up, he was gone with the baby. I got to her side and rolled her over. I figured she must be hurt bad not to have moved after he hit her, but when I rolled her over it wasn't a woman at all. It was a man...a big man. Then I saw this dark- haired woman walking out of the alley slowly. She was tall, dark curly hair over her shoulders wearing a long black leather coat. It sort of billowed in the wind behind her as she walked. She never turned toward me, so I don't know what her face looked like, but it was definitely a woman." She sat and drifted back to the alley, letting the images dance before her eyes before she continued. "Now I know I'm getting up in years, but my eyesight is 20-20 with my glasses and I know what I saw. It was a woman clutching that baby to her and that evil man took it. I can't explain the other man...I don't understand it, but I know what I saw. She was a pretty thing about 5'5, 120lbs auburn-hair with almost red highlights in it that was curly all the way to her shoulders." She pointed to her shoulders to exaggerated the description. "She couldn't have been more than 35 if that. I know what I saw!" She crossed her arms in self-defense. Nick listened with all his senses and knew the woman spoke the truth. If he hadn't known Nat was in Vancouver with her new baby and husband, he'd have sworn it was her. Just out of curiosity, he asked. "If I show you some pictures, could you identify the man in black? You said you saw his face. " "Of course I can, young man!" Mrs. Ess stated indignantly. Nick smiled and disappeared for a moment. When he returned he handed her a photograph. She gasped in recognition. "That's him! Those evil eyes...That's him!" Reese grabbed the photo from her hands and stared at it. It was signed 'The Nightcrawler'. "You know something I don't, Nick?" He looked at his Detective skeptically and saw anger and something far stronger...fear. Nick bolted for the door without answering. He grabbed the phone on his desk and dialed Natalie's number in Vancouver. He'd never called it before, but he knew it by heart. When there was no answer, he called the hospital research department to find she'd taken some time off for an emergency. They didn't know any of the details. He called her landlord and Rachel answered on the second ring. "Vancouver Arms Apartments," her sultry voice made most people pause, but not Nick. "This is Detective Nick Knight with Metro Police in Toronto. I'm trying to locate one of your tenants, a Dr. Natalie Lambert. She may have changed her name since she got married, but she has a young baby and..." "Yes, Detective Knight. I know Natalie quite well. How can I help you besides informing you she isn't married." Rachel smiled over the phone and she heard him pause. "I thought...never mind. Do you know where Natalie is?" He waited holding his breath totally unaware of his partner standing behind him watching closely. "Well she's gone for a week or so. I'm watching her cat for her and the apartment. She didn't give me any details except it was important to her and the baby. I didn't question her. I wish I could be more helpful, but Natalie isn't too open with her past." "Thank you, I appreciate your help." Nick hung up the phone and let the fear he'd been holding at bay overwhelm him completely. He slammed his fist into his desk in anger. "That Bastard!" He turned and almost knocked Tracy down. "Nick, you want to explain." She only received an angry glare and she could have sworn his eyes were gold. She shook her head to clear the image, but he was gone. Reese walked up beside her and handed her the photograph. "I don't know who the hell this guy is, but Nick knows him." Tracy took one look at the autograph and ran towards the door. ------------- Julian's dark hair ruffled in the breeze as he stood in front of the precinct. All his senses were on edge. The streetlamp above his head only made his hair appear darker and his eyes a brighter blue. His lithe agile form stood almost motionless as he listened to the voices whispering in his mind. It had been constant since he'd heard the interview of the woman about the kidnapped child. He was supposed to be here tonight. That much he knew so he waited. The door burst open and a blond main, obviously angry, slammed it back against the wall. His eyes locked with Julian's and the anger and fear was palpable. Age overwhelmed him and Julian stepped back to catch his breath. When he closed his eyes for a second the man disappeared. ---------------- Nick didn't bother to knock, but tore the hinges off the door in anger. There were only a few patrons at the bar and they scurried for the door after Nick stepped through. "LaCroix!" He screamed in anger. Receiving no answer, he disappeared into the private quarters. LaCroix attacked him from the rear and Nick easily tossed him aside and launched a frontal attack. He pressed his master back over the bar until he heard bones crack from the force. "What pathetic excuse do you have for breaking our agreement?" He grabbed him by the neck and hauled him across the room toward the wood spears hanging on the wall. LaCroix broke the hold and body slammed his son hard into the wall behind them. "So you've decided show your true nature early tonight. I must say I'm surprised, Nicholas. I usually have to inflict major pain before you let the vampire out of his cage. What ever has caused it...I approve!" He hissed and slammed the palm of his hand into Nick's ribcage. Nick struggled free with little effort as the rage he'd kept controlled for 10months overwhelmed him. They rolled into the next room, each fighting for position and breaking bones in the process until Nick sat on top of him filled with the red rage of the vampire. "All deals are off, LaCroix. You broke the arrangement." He grabbed the nearest table leg. Ancient power swept over the room and sucked the energy from his body. He stared down at his father in surprise and raw pain engulfed his own body. Another secret power his father had kept from him. Tracy stopped in horror as Nick came through the opening in the wall in full-fledged vampire mode. He had eyes for no one but LaCroix as the fight continued. She started to his aid, but Vachon held her tightly from behind. "It's between them, Trace. Don't interfere or you'll get killed." She struggled against him in vain as she watched in fascination. LaCroix threw him hard against the wall and slammed the table leg through his son's chest. He watched the anger in his son's face then tore it free from his body. Nick screamed in agony as the sucking sound of wet tissue clung to the make-shift wood stake as it pulled free. Enthralled with the anger within his son, he plunged his fangs deep into Nick's neck and drank deeply. A sharp pain in his chest made him break contact. Nick collapsed and slid down the wall leaving a blood trail behind. LaCroix stared at the wood stake now protruding from his own chest as the flames inside burst to life. He turned to find Nick's blond partner standing ready to plant another stake deep within his heart. He avoided it barely and tossed her across the room. The first stake barely touched his heart, so he jerked it free in one quick motion and sank to his knees in pain. He stared at his unconscious son on the floor and the young mortal now getting to her feet with the aid of the young Spaniard. "This isn't over!" He hissed and disappeared. Tracy ran to Nick's side. Blood poured from his shoulder and the side of his head. She reached for her cell phone and dialed 911. Vachon flipped it closed before they answered. "You can't call an ambulance. Think, Trace!" He stared at her and flashed fangs. "Nick's older than I am and LaCroix is his sire. They've been at each other for the past 10 months and Nick's been paying the price. Up until tonight he hasn't really been fighting back. Something has changed." They heard the sirens in the distance. "We've got to get him out of here." He leaned over and picked up Nick's limp form and tossed him over his shoulder. "Your car or his?" "Mine. He didn't bring one and now I know why." They slipped out the back door just as the police rounded the corner. Slipping into the shadows as the uniform officers cautiously entered the front door, they waited for the right moment and headed for her car. Seconds later they were headed for Nick's loft. ------------- Natalie drove the car carefully out of the parking lot. Nicole lay sleeping in her car seat and it gave her time to think. Images of their one night together danced before her. She smiled and let the warmth it always created envelope her. It's what had kept her sane in the past 10 months. So much had changed and now the ultimate price of their love had to be paid. Nicole was dying. ********flashback********** She paced in front of the windows and chewed on her fingernails. Nick was pulling away ever since his memory had returned. He loved her. She knew that now and they'd made beautiful love all night long. "I don't need to remember you name to know how I feel." His words wove their way into her heart permanently. Whatever hold LaCroix had over Nick, she had to make a deal. She grabbed her coat and headed for the Raven. ----------- Was she insane? She slammed the car door and looked at the cold building with the raven in flight over the awning. No, she was in love and she needed answers. She found the door unlocked and stepped in. The usually loud bar was empty and only the soft hum of the air conditioner could be heard. She walked deeper inside and he was beside her instantly. "To what do I owe the pleasure, Doctor?" His low sensual voice danced over her skin and she was not immune. He laughed as she turned to confront him. She saw curiosity, then something odd in his eyes. In the time it takes to blink, he grabbed her throat. He caressed the clear skin over her neck and was now even more curious. "What is this, mortal?" He pulled her next to him in an embrace and was greeted with instant anger. "You are mine any time that I want you. Struggling only makes the victory sweeter." He let the words hang in the air around her. Instantly, she stopped struggling in his arms. He let his fangs extend and she gasped in fear, but still she didn't resist. "I can see why Nicholas is so taken with you...beautiful and bright." He pulled her hand to his lips and kissed it gently. Slowly, he scratched the delicate skin with his fangs and licked the wound closed, letting all her memories become his. "You are a very brave woman, Doctor." He released her and stepped back. Her memories touch his mind like the wings of a mouth fluttering slowly in the breeze. He stared at her amazed. She and Nicholas had been together and she carried his child. It wasn't possible. He stepped back, eyed her closely and wondered what it would be like to bed this woman. A sharp slap could be heard in the silent room as she connected to his face, angrier than she'd ever felt in her life. "You will never find out. Reach into what you feel and know what is in my blood. I will never be yours in any way!" She leaned over and picked up a chair. She slammed it hard into the bar and broke it into pieces. She picked up a wooden slat and held it tightly in her fist for defense. "You found out what you wanted to know, now it's my turn!" He was on her instantly pressing her back against the bar with his body, yet he didn't restrain her hands and the wooden stake. He pressed his lips close to hers. "Do it, Doctor. Stake me and eliminate the only thing standing between you and the love you crave so much." He felt the sharp stick in his abdomen then realized his mistake. He moved slightly and she shoved it upwards toward his heart. "You wanted to know if I was capable." She shoved it further and let the tip of it touch his heart. Pain ripped through his body, but he didn't move. The anger within her was controlled by sheer logic. She would kill him if necessary. She would regret it and felt pity for him, but she would do what was necessary to survive and to keep Nicholas safe. "If you kill me doctor, there will be no one left to prevent the Enforcers from killing Nicholas and your child." He stepped back slowly and she pulled the wood free from his body. She stared at him in shock. "You carry his child...a child of both worlds, a child of the light with the power of the night. If it survives...if you survive there will be no one strong enough to keep the Enforcers away. They will kill the child and Nicholas for daring to break the cardinal rule of contact with mortals. They will enslave you into the world of darkness for fear you will bear another child or come back in another form and do it again. You can look forward to an eternity in chains used as a whore to the dregs of our society." He watched her fight the fear that formed in the pit of her stomach. He admired her even more now. "If you leave now, Doctor, he will never know. Lack of knowledge is a blessing when it comes to the Enforcers. Leave now and walk away from him so you both can get on with your lives. Leave now and his debt to me will be repaid. Convince him you no longer wish to wait for the return of his mortality and I will keep your secret. At least you and the child will have a chance at a normal life if you survive. If not then I will be forced to talk with the High Council and the Enforcers will end all the possibilities." He smiled knowingly. "Better to lose and fight another day, than to never fight again." He was right. Nick was already on the watch list because of his activities with the mortals. A pregnancy would be the last straw. They would destroy him and their child. Could she trust him? Did she have a choice? She dropped the stake and walked out the door. That night she wrote a note to Nick. It was tear stained by the time she'd finished and the words were burned into her memory for eternity. My Love: I say that with all my heart, but it can never be. I thought if I could get you to love me as I loved you nothing could stop us. I was wrong. You have a past you won't share and I need a future; however short it may be. Our lives cannot walk the same path for now and I must leave and let you put the past behind you. I will always keep a place in my heart for you for now and forever. With all my love, Natalie It wasn't what she really needed to tell him, but it would make him let her go without more questions. That would have to do. At least he would be safe and maybe their child would have a chance. She had no other choice at the moment. Time for once, might be on her side. She left that night and had not returned...until now. ******end flashback********* Would he be angry? Would he even care that Nicole was his daughter. So many times she cried out for him while she carried their child. So many times she picked up the phone to tell him they were having a child made of love. The pregnancy almost killed her, but Nicole had been worth the sacrifice and now she was dying. Her blood was changing rapidly. The vampire gene was attaching to her normal cells and turning her into a vampire slowly. If the transformation occurred, she would be an immortal infant bound to a child's body for eternity never growing, only feeding on society with no conscience and no regret. She could never let that happen. Nicole was made in love and she had every right to live a full life filled with all the hopes and joys of a normal child. There was only one chance...Nick's blood. Maybe with transfusions from her father the genes would attach only to his and leave her normal cells alone. It had worked in the test tube. She had to have faith it would work in reality. Would Nick be willing to sacrifice everything for his daughter? Would he willingly put his life at risk from the Enforcers to keep her alive? She already knew the answer and she prayed for his forgiveness. She turned the corner and headed for the loft. End Part 4 All comments to: Part 5 Adult ---------- Tracy and Vachon balanced Nick between them. He groaned only once when they pulled him out of the car. Tracy vacillated between anger and pity as she stared at her blond partner now blowing air bubbles through the open wound in his chest. Lots of things started falling in place. She was aggravated with herself and it was apparent on her face. "You couldn't have known, Trace." Vachon said softly as they rode up the lift. "Yeah, right. I'm around you all the time and I couldn't pick out the same traits in my evasive partner." She shook her head in disbelief. "I really didn't know." She stared at Nick's limp form between them. "There was so much power in that room. I've never felt anything like that before. I feel something from you most of the time and lots of the others at the Raven, but I've never felt anything like that before, especially not from Nick." "Nick and LaCroix are two of the oldest vampires in the community. Nick is different. I've known that since the day I met him...which I must say was not a pleasant experience since he was ticked off about me and you." He looked at her sheepishly. "I don't think you want to know...really." He adjusted Nick until he completely rested in his arms as the lift stopped. Tracy grabbed the door and slid it open. Vachon picked him up and headed for the couch by the fireplace. Tracy stared around the place as she walked in, noticing the Steinway and the paintings. Vachon was heading for the refrigerator and she immediately noticed his familiarity with Nick's place. "I'm going to assume this isn't the first time you've been here?" She raised a knowing eye and headed for her unconscious partner now lying on the couch. "Seems like a lot since the Doc left." He sighed sadly. "Something happened when Dr. Lambert left. Nick and LaCroix have never been on really good terms and I'd heard rumors of their fights long before I'd ever seen the damage. Since the Doc left, it's been constant. I've seen the General and he hasn't faired much better than Nick, which is odd considering the difference in age. It's like he is punishing Nick for something and Nick won't fight back until the pain is out of control. It's like he is doing penance or something." Vachon tore open Nick's blood soaked shirt and stared at the hole in his chest. He gasped at the sight of it. "That's got to hurt!" He noticed the bruising under his ribs and the blood soaking through Nick's pants over his thigh. "All in all, Nick, I've seen you a great deal worse in the past few months." Nick groaned when he probed the wound. Vachon poured blood down Nick's throat until he choked. "Worse than this?" Tracy said in disbelief. "You don't want to know. He has to have been moving slowly at work on Mondays when you see him. Nick's body doesn't heal as fast because of his diet." He poured more blood down Nick's throat then took a swig for himself. "What do you mean, Vachon?" Vachon stared at Tracy and smiled sadly. "I told you he's different. He doesn't drink human blood anymore and he hates what he is. That alone is enough to piss the General off, but rumor has it he was trying to become mortal again. Nick never said, but I think he and the doc where working on it and making progress. I saw him eating food one night with her and drinking some sort of concoction from a glass. He never got sick from it, so something was different. And like I said, he's different than the rest of us. He actually cares about people...I mean mortals." He stared at her and wondered if she caught the implication. "You care about us too, don't you?" She asked hoping she already knew the answer. "I care about you, Trace, but only after Nick made me spend the time and effort it took to get to know you. I was ready to bail on you. Vampires are self-centered creatures as well as indulgent. It comes with the immortality and not fearing anything. " He chuckled at the thought. "I was worse than most. I was going to split when the Inca showed up and leave you hanging. Nick made me grow up...Well actually he told me to grow up and face my responsibilities of protecting you or he'd make sure I found out how mortality felt." Vachon laid a soft rag over the gapping wound in Nick's chest and pushed gently. Nick screamed in agony. He released the pressure immediately. Nick began to cough blood. "This isn't good!" He probed the wound gently causing Nick more pain and he coughed harder. Blood poured from the wound in his chest. Vachon tore his pant leg and noticed the wound healing. "What is it?" Tracy knelt down beside them. "There must be wood splinters still imbedded in his heart. He's not healing. Notice his leg." Tracy stared at the tissue healing before her eyes. "The bruises are from an earlier fight, I'm guessing where he's had internal damage. Takes a couple of days for those to heal, but this isn't going to heal unless we get someone to remove the wood." Nick moaned Natalie's name as he fought for consciousness. His eyes blinked open and his power washed over the room. Tracy gasped for breath. "Nat?" Nick felt the heartbeat before he heard it and prayed it was Natalie. Fire burned in his veins as the pain in his shoulder became living torture until he began to pant for breath. He tried to move only to have sharp points stab his heart and make the pain explode in his chest. He tried to focus on the heartbeat, but he knew it wasn't Natalie. She was gone...happy in her new life. Something nibbled at the edges of his mind through the haze of torment that covered his weakened body. Natalie's face danced before him and he reached out to it. "I'll never let him hurt you. I'll die first...my life for yours...I made a deal with him. He will keep it or..." "It's Tracy, Nick." She held his hand and knew he was beyond understanding. He was in such pain. She turned to Vachon. "We have to help him, Vachon!" A single tear slid down her cheek as he shook his head. "I can help him." Natalie's voice was firm and in control even though her emotions where not. She sat Nicole down by the chair and rushed to Nick's side. Quickly she grabbed her bag and opened it. "Hold him down while I probe the wound." Vachon touched her shoulder. "It's touching his heart. He's alive by sheer will. If you push one of the splinters through...it will kill him." She nodded her understanding. "Just don't let him move then." Vachon held his shoulder and Tracy his legs as Natalie set to work. "It's okay, Nick. Just don't move." A scream tore from his lips when she touched the wood splinter imbedded deep into his shoulder. The end touched his heart and he gasped for breath and began to cough. "Hold him tight. She delved deeper with the forceps until she had the edge then jerked it free in one smooth motion. The sucking sound of the tissue was nauseating, but he moaned in relief. She quickly got a syringe and started filling it with blood from the bottle beside her. She injected it straight into his stomach and he groaned in response. "We need something that I can set up and IV with. He needs blood quickly. "We need to get him conscious. He can drink it though his fangs quicker than any IV can deliver it. His body will heal faster as well." Vachon hoped she understood the risks. "Tracy you and the doc need to get out of here. He's going to go for the first living body to help him heal." "I'm not leaving, Vachon. I already did that once and it was a mistake." She moved her hand over the bruises on Nick's abdomen. These are old..." She stared at him already knowing the truth. "How many times before has this happened?" "You don't want to know." He touched her shoulder in concern. "You...most of all need to leave, Doc. He wants you and with the pain he is in, he won't have any control. I know he's 800 years old, but with a wound to the heart there is only pain and blood. That's it!" He tried to make her understand. "I love him, Vachon. I have for a long time. I left to protect him and our unborn child. I was wrong. It only hurt us all! I know that now. I won't leave him no matter what. We live or die together as a family...just as it should be." She heard Nicole stir. "You take Nick upstairs for me and watch Nicole. I'll handle the rest. Tracy removed the blanket over the carseat and Nicole cooed softly at her. The baby was totally irresistible, so she unbuckled her harness and lifted the small infant gently into her arms. She was rewarded with a smile and a small giggle. "You are beautiful." Tracy whispered as she grabbed the little finger reaching for hers. "You look just like your father." She turned to see Vachon walking down the stairs slowly...worried. He stopped half way down and started back up, only to stop again. The Doc knew what she was getting into. At least he hoped she did. The noise at the other side of the room caught his attention as he watched Tracy coo softly to the infant. It brought a smile to his face. She deserved to be a mother and happy. It was what she was born to do. "Come hold her, Vachon. She's beautiful and looks exactly like Nick." Joy was apparent on her face for the first time in a long time. Amazing what a baby could do for a woman. Tracy offered Nicole to him, but he backed away shaking his head. "She won't bite." She smiled at the remark and chuckled. "Even if she does, it won't hurt you." She placed the baby into his arms over protest and he was hooked as soon as she grabbed his finger. ------------------- Natalie had found an old IV set in her bag and managed to pour blood into a Ziplock bag. She set up the makeshift IV and ran it straight into Nick's stomach. He moaned in pain, but she watched the wound around his heart begin to heal. She was terrified and relieved all at the same time. How could she explain this? Would he forgive her? Desperately she needed him to know how much she loved him. How much Nicole loved him. Quickly, she reached over and grabbed a scalpel out of her bag. She sliced her wrist deep enough for it to bleed heavily, but not to cause her harm. She lanced his wrist, then placed hers next to his and lay down beside him. Instant warmth flooded her body and she knew it was Nick. She relaxed and pushed into what she felt letting her blood tell him the words she couldn't find. Images flashed in her mind. She felt raw uncontrollable pain engulf her until she almost screamed. He had traded his very soul for her safety even without knowing about the child. LaCroix had used their love against each of them. The fights had been mostly one sided as Nick held onto the one thing LaCroix could not possess...his love for her. He'd refused to let LaCroix touch it or taint it in any way and it had made the beatings worse. The humiliation and degradation Nick felt when LaCroix sodomized him in an effort to break his will tore her apart. The need within him to hang onto the one moment in his life he'd felt loved for himself and not the power within him. Tears flooded her face as the images continued to flow between them. "What have we done, Nick?" She wept openly and gave into the raw pain within her own heart and then they began to heal. ------------------ LaCroix's shoulder had healed, but his anger had not cooled. He tossed another glass of blood down without thinking. He stared at the Raven in shambles then threw the glass into the mess on the floor. Nick's blood still permeated the room and it drove him crazy. He grabbed a rag and started mopping it up. He'd become addicted to his son's blood. He reached down and ran his finger through the fresh trail still lingering on the floor and tasted it without a second thought. Pure emotion flooded his sense and he felt alive once more. Yes, he was as addicted to it now as he was the first time he'd tasted it so many centuries ago. Nicholas' ability to love and hate all rolled into a burning ball of passion untouched by the vampire even after all the centuries. He sighed in regret. "A taste of forbidden fruit, Lucien?" Her sultry voice floated across the room and he felt a cold chill. "Who are you?" He stood regally and appraised her closely. He could feel only the cold...nothing more. She walked towards him almost effortlessly. Her dark black hair moved slightly with the motion, but her face remained impassive. Her green eyes locked to his. "You already know the answer to that. The question is are you ready to be judged or is what you crave worth the price of your immortal soul." She stood nose to nose with him now and her ruby red lips glistened in the low light. "A taste of humanity bought by the blood of the innocent can never be. Choose wisely evil one or the price may be too high." The room began to glow and a slow, even warmth washed over his cold body and he felt peace for the first time. He stared in amazement and she smiled. "Yes, his humanity has touched you. I have watched you and Nicholas for a long time and your time is at hand. All that you shall be has not been decided. Do not waste your chance...It may be your last." The light around him began to throb and glow. When he turned to meet her eyes and ask what she meant, he found only air. ----------------- Images of Nicole danced in his mind and the joy she brought with her. Her smile, the small giggle she so frequently graced Natalie with washed over him and he knew instantly they were connected. He reached out to her and found regret and doubt, but it wasn't the child's. Natalie's face floated in front of him and the images of that night with LaCroix and her decision became a part of him for eternity. She had sacrificed her own desires and happiness to keep him and their child safe. Nicole was his daughter. Pride and joy washed over him and for the first time in his life he felt complete. It was what was meant to be. Warmth and a feeling of joy washed over him and he welcomed it with open arms. His daughter's love of her mother and Natalie's love of him coursed through the blood now mixing with his. Natalie had never given up on him, only hidden to protect him and their child, but something was wrong. Fear overwhelmed him until he panted for breath once more. He pushed into the connection, but the fear within Natalie was too overwhelming for him to make sense of it. He struggled against his weakened body and forced himself to consciousness calling her name. "Nat?" Nick groaned in pain as he struggled to awaken. She sat up and started to break the connection, but he stopped her. "NO, let me feel you." His blues eyes locked with hers. "Let me feel it all, so I know you're not a dream." He held their wrists together with one hand and caressed her face with the other. "You're all that has kept me sane. The only thing that has kept me going." Images of Nicole floated across his mind and the fear. The knowledge that she was his daughter made him smile. "We have a daughter!" He said in awe while he felt her doubt and regret, causing his own guilt to rise quickly. If he'd only told her everything...If she'd told him she was pregnant. A tear slid down her beautiful skin and it tore his heart in two. He wiped it away with his thumb and brought her lips to his, kissing her softly. " I will never give you reason to doubt me again. I swear it. I've been a fool...not you." He kissed her again and sucked her lower lip into his mouth causing her to moan in appreciation. What was between them had only grown over time and distance. "Let me love you, Natalie. Let me show you how much I missed you." He broke the kiss and nuzzled her neck. He was in no condition to make love, but his body refused to yield to his weakness. She kissed him back and deepened the kiss. He broke the kiss long enough to pull her blouse over her head. She offered him her neck and he trailed feather-light, wet kisses down her porcelain skin and finished at her breast. He suckled gently at first her right breast as he rubbed the nipple of the other between his two fingers. She moaned in appreciation. "I miss you, Natalie. I want to be with you. Tell me you want me too." He sucked harder on her breast until it became a hard nub in his mouth and he wanted more, but not if she didn't understand the consequences. "Tell me you'll come back for me if I lose control." He nipped the skin above her lace bra and pulled it away for better access, but held back. Somehow, he'd find a way to walk away if she refused. His golden eyes found hers and he saw consent and need. He flipped her over and stretched on top of her letting his hard shaft rub her pant-covered, inner thigh. He held her face between his hands and searched for acceptance, but found love instead. "I have always loved you. I will always love our daughter. Nothing will ever change that." A tear slipped from her eye and he brushed it away. "Tell me to stop and I will." She pulled his lips to hers and kissed him tenderly as if he were a china doll, then slid her tongue deep into his mouth. She moved him until the hard bulge in his pants rubbed her clit through the cloth. She moved slowly causing them both to gasp in pleasure and break the kiss. "Now and forever I am yours, Nick Knight. Love me as I love you and we'll find all the answers together." She unbuckled his belt and pants then shoved them over his hips in one quick motion. When her hands touched his flesh, he groaned in need. Slowly, she moved a hand inside his silk briefs and massaged him. He bucked beneath her touch and growled in her ear in pleasure. "I want you, Nick...all of you." She pushed his briefs off and pulled him hard into her willing body. The friction of his sensitive skin against the cloth of her pants drove him insane. He tore her pants free with one motion and she lay before him clad only in the lace panties and bra. He stopped and trailed his fingertips over her abdomen and marveled at her beauty. "Please, Nick!" She pleaded as he pushed her panties to the side and kissed the inviting mound of throbbing heat. He separated her labia and let his tongue seek its reward. Her juices flooded his mouth and he sucked greedily. He found her clit and teased it into a hard nub underneath his tongue until she screamed in pleasure. "Nick, please...I..." She panted heavily as he worked her skillfully with his mouth. She grabbed his hair and pulled him back to her lips and sought her own relief from the torture he was creating in her body. Without hesitation, he buried his shaft deep within her willing thighs and began to move slowly. His tongue in her mouth mimicked his hard cock in her hot body and they were lost to the feel of each other. Each time he pulled out she forced him back inside her harder and deeper than the time before, until he pounded her body in a fast paced rhythm leading to only one conclusion. He released her lips and growled in pleasure as she worked him into a frenzy of need. The vampire was free from his cage and he wanted total possession, but the woman was stronger. "Tell me who wants me more..." She ground her cervix onto his stiff shaft and he felt her body grasp tighter to his. "Tell me!" She found her own g-spot and ground the head of his penis onto it until she screamed in release and started to contract around him. "Tell me!" She gave into her own body and worked him deeper inside her as her body began to contract around his. Pure pleasure washed through him and his lower body burned with a long forgotten heat. Only once before had he ever felt such pain- filled pleasure and his body knew what would release it. He ground himself into the spot that craved his attention and her body pulled his release from him willingly. He pumped his seed deep inside her as he screamed her name in release, only then did she offer him her neck. Lights danced in front of his eyes in a red haze. The electricity between them shot through his body and he was lost to the feel of it and the love he felt surround him. "Nat?" He panted as he watched her body fall over the edge and he wanted to share it with her. When she offered him her neck, he didn't hesitate. Gently he planted his fangs deep within her neck and they were connected for eternity by blood. He drank deeply until Nicole appeared before his eyes and he knew it was enough. He released her neck with a sigh and she moaned at the loss of the connection. He checked her heartbeat and it was strong even though her breath was still rapid. He checked the wounds on her neck and was filled instantly with regret. "Don't," she clasped her hand over his as he caressed her neck. "It's a part of you. A part I've never been afraid of." Their eyes locked and she pulled his lips back to hers and he lost himself to the feel of her soft skin once more. Her memories danced in his mind and the problem with Nicole crushed him. "Where is she?" He said in ragged breaths as he pushed off her and stood for the first time. The loss of blood and all the strenuous activity took its toll. He staggered as the room began to spin out of control. His daughter needed him. He grabbed the bedpost for support and she was beside him just as lightheaded. "We have to take this slow. This is all my fault. You were in no condition to..." He pressed a finger to her lips to silence her then kissed her gently. "I love you, Natalie Lambert and nothing could have stopped what happened. It has always been there between us, I was just too scared to accept the responsibility of what could happen, but the man is stronger than the vampire. Don't you see? I came to you before I ever bit you. It wasn't your blood that released me, but your love. I don't want to waste another minute. Bring me, Nicole! I want us to be a family. Damn LaCroix and the Enforcers. We'll find a way...I swear it!" He pulled her naked body into his arms and kissed her soundly. She moaned in response and his hands began to arouse her once more. "We have to stop this or I may have to chain you to that bed." Natalie panted as her body responded to his touch like they'd been lovers for centuries. He chuckled and kissed her once more with the pent up passion of years. "Let's get Nicole and see if my blood will stop this." He said hopefully and reached for his clothes and hers, then headed downstairs. End Part 5 Part 6 The images were getting stronger. Julian paced in front of the warehouse as the explosion ripped the building apart. He could see a lone figure in the distance and he knew she was connected somehow to his visions. He shook his head to try and clear the image of her as she walked into the streetlight and stopped. Her eyes locked with his and she smiled. A feeling of peace enveloped him and he relaxed. The smile now reached her bright green eyes and she softly chuckled at his reaction. Finally, she turned and walked away. The sirens could be heard from a distance, but he didn't care anymore. He had to find the answers or it was going to drive him insane. It had never been like this before. Always in the past he could control the images, but not now...not this time. A wave a panic overwhelmed him. He collapsed to his knees and gasped for breath as the first fire engine arrived. -------------- LaCroix dug furiously into his trunk looking for the book. He cursed under his breath until he found what he had been seeking. He pulled it out and unlaced the oilcloth bound around the book and sat it down beneath the light. She was in here, just as she had been over 700 years ago. He flipped open the pages, being careful not to tear any of them. The book dated back over 1000 years. It was a record of the ancients kept by a close friend who had passed on some time ago due to a lack in judgment. He looked at the last entry and realized he'd fallen down on his task. Cedric had been a bit too vocal about what he'd seen and the Enforcer silenced him forever. He should update the book once again. It was time and the book had been left in his care. He turned back to that fateful year of 1228 and scanned the record. There in the margins was a sketch. There could be no denial once you looked at the eyes in the drawing. The description matched. He pulled out the photograph taken some 100 years earlier and laid it down next to the drawing. It was the same woman and she had been watching him. He read then re-read, the passage written by Cedric. "She appears in the chaos and cleanses the evil from the face of the earth leaving only those that have not yet made the choice." She'd been sighted by numerous witnesses around the tavern where he'd met Nicholas. How was she tied to his son? Deep inside he already knew the answer, but why let him bring Nicholas across in the first place? He closed the book and relived the night he and Janette enticed Nicholas into joining them. The images were as clear as the taste of his son's blood on his tongue. Nicholas passion for life and others around him was as strong today as it was on that fateful night so many centuries ago. He closed the book just as confused as he was in the beginning. Why hadn't she killed him? He needed answers. -------------------- Nick and Natalie used each other for support as they walked down the stairs slowly. Vachon sensed him first and headed for the stairwell. "I see you have survived once more." He smiled sadly, but noticed the holes in the doc's neck. He listened closely and found her heartbeat regular. He stared at Nick in amazement. How was that possible? He started to ask, but Nicole squealed loudly as if she knew her mother and father were present. "I think she knows you're here." Tracy carried the little bundle to her father. "She looks just like you, Nick." She said happily as she placed the small, squirming infant into his arms. Nicole stared up at her father for the first time and smiled. With her front teeth already visible, she blew bubbles and kicked her feet until all her blankets were removed. Nick touched her petal soft skin and the connection was made. Joy and happiness flooded his very soul as he sat down with his daughter in his arms. He brushed the blonde lock of hair from her forehead and she grabbed his finger for his efforts. He beamed in pride and pleasure. Then she squealed in delight and tried to pull his finger into her mouth as her appetite returned. When she began to suck gently, she bit into his finger and drew blood. Nick started to withdraw it, but she began to cry. "She needs more than milk, Nick." Natalie squatted on the floor beside her. "She needs her father." Nick slipped his bleeding finger back into her mouth and she sucked greedily. He could feel his power being transferred to his daughter and his fear returned. Nicole reached up with her tiny hand to caress her father's hand as she fed from his blood. True color returned to her cheeks for the first time in months and she was content. She released his finger and cooed softly. "I missed you too, little one, and I promise to take care of you and your mom for as long as you'll have me." He kissed her forehead and she giggled. It brought a long overdue smile to his face. ------------------- Several Hours later: Julian sat in the interrogation room and went over what he'd seen for the 10th time. His psychic abilities were on edge here and he thought he knew why. Continually he stared at the mirror behind the young blond officer asking him the same questions all over again. He'd even helped the sketch artist put a face to this mysterious woman. The whole precinct was on edge and he could feel it. Julian's dark blue eyes caught the light and glistened, but he wasn't staring at Tracy. The man behind the mirror is the person he needed to touch. If only he would come in here. Then it would stop and he could understand what was happening. "Mr. Blackwell, if you could just explain why you were in the alley in the first place I think we could call this a night." Tracy tried to keep the emotion from her voice as she sat across the table from this attractive man. Here was the perfect description of a dark, handsome man. Julian Blackwell was well over 6'2" and probably weighed in at about 180. His clothes were impeccable, down to his Armani suitjacket and Gucci shoes. The dark hair that continually fell over his brow to annoy him only made him more handsome. His movements were fluid and when his blue eyes locked with hers, she had a difficult time breathing. The electricity in the room was more than noticeable. She wasn't certain it was because she was attracted to him or the fact he exuded some special aura. When she turned her head quickly, she swore a reddish-blue glow appeared around his head. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you, Detective." Julian stared into her light blue eyes and realized she was attracted to him. He studied her closely and saw the colors around her. Instantly, he knew she'd been touched by another world. He smiled and took a chance. "Then again, maybe you would." "What if I were to tell you that I was drawn to the place by a feeling? What if I told you I heard voices in my head telling me to go there and watch? What if I were to tell you that the man behind that mirror," he pointed to the two-way mirror, "...is the reason I'm here, not the explosion at the warehouse?" Tracy pushed back her chair and began to pace the floor in front of him. Nick walked into the room unannounced. The electricity in the room actually shot sparks causing Tracy to gasp. Nick eyed Julian closely and waited. Julian stood and studied the same man he'd seen leave the precinct several nights before. Incredible age overwhelmed him along with great power and he too, gasped for breath. A dark blue halo fading into black was surrounded by a bright yellow haze. Julian had never seen anything like it before until he'd met this man. What was this man? Who was he? He walked forward cautiously and touched Nick's arm. Thousands of images flashed in his mind along with pain. Julian screamed in agony and collapsed to the floor. Nick tried to catch him, but Julian avoided his touch. "Don't!" Julian moved away quickly and backed himself in the corner as the images bombarded his overly sensitive mind. He began to sweat and breathe heavily as the images of death and violence bombarded his conscious mind. Finally, images of a woman and infant caressed his very being with a total feeling of peace. The images changed immediately and he was filled with a sense of inner calm and love. Julian pushed into it and felt conflict, need and fear. He opened his eyes to stare at the young blond man before him and finally understood. "We need to talk," he looked at the mirror then back to Nick, "someplace private." He extended his hand to Nick's for help up off the floor. Totally expecting another barrage of images, he braced himself. Nick offered him his hand. When their hands met, only the images of the beautiful woman and the child danced in front of his eyes. She was beautiful and he loved her. Julian smiled...a creature of the night in love with a mortal and the father of a child. How was this possible? End Part 6 Part 7 LaCroix waited patiently, forcing himself to stand still in spite of the anxiety he felt. Archon would know the answers. He was an elder of the Supreme Council and he was here for a reason. The fact that he allowed him an audience on such short notice told LaCroix something was amiss. The door open to the inner suite and an old white-haired servant appeared. Startled to find the servant with no heartbeat, he stared at him inquisitively. The old vampire smiled knowingly. "Yes, he brought me across to serve him for eternity. Mercy is not in his vocabulary. Remember that!" He walked slowly forward letting his obvious age prior to being made a vampire show, then pushed open the door for LaCroix. "The Master is ready to see you now, Monsieur LaCroix." He bowed and closed the door behind him. "Welcome, Lucien. It has been a long time, nearly a century I believe. You must have been behaving yourself." Archon chuckled and motioned for Lucien to stand beside him. With a couple thousand years of practice, LaCroix placed that stoic façade of indifference on his features and came forward. "Indulge yourself, Lucien," Archon pointed to the blood on the table beside him. "I assure you it came to us willingly. We wouldn't want any additional stress added to our already precarious position at the moment." He smiled evilly and waited for LaCroix to take a sip. He did so politely and waited to be asked to speak. "You are very proper, Lucien. That's what I've always admired about you. A time and place for everything and always proper." He reached for the other glass and sipped the blood slowly. "Now tell me why you're here or should I tell you?" Archon eyed LaCroix closely and smiled. Lucien was such a clever man. That was why he had survived so long. Never give away information you didn't have too. "You want to know who the woman is? Why she is here?" He raised a knowing eye and smiled. "She has been documented at least 5 times that I am aware of. I wish to know why she is here and what she has to do with my son?" LaCroix stated simply without emotion. Archon leaned back in his chair and let his memory run wild. "She is such a beautiful creature...so alive...so untouched by the evil around here. Don't you think?" Archon smiled knowing full well LaCroix had seen her or he wouldn't be here. "Yes, I know she came to see you. I know everything that goes on here, Lucien. Never forget that. Things have gotten out of control here. Some of the young one have broken too many rules and your errant son is at the top of the list." Gold flashed in his eyes. "I should have never permitted you to bring him across, but Janette is such a beguiling creature. I had hopes for the first 200 years that all would be as it should be, but I should have known the fact that SHE let you complete the task was not a good sign. Destiny has its own way of finding us even if it takes 800 years for it to happen. The best we can hope for now is that the child will not survive." Archon stared at LaCroix expecting him to understand. "Am I clear on this, Lucien?" "Perfectly, Lord Archon," LaCroix said humbly as Archon's ancient power washed over the room, causing the lights to flicker. "It is time for you to decide which is more important...your life or your son's." LaCroix looked stunned then recovered quickly. "Knowing you like I do, Lucien, and listening to the stories of the past few months of your...shall we say...family arguments. I think you have realized your mistake." Archon called his power back to him and the lights became steady once more. "Kill the father and the child will die. What you do with the woman is of no concern to me. Just do not let her breed again." The audience was over and he dismissed LaCroix with a wave of his hand. Still confused but smart enough not to push the issue, LaCroix headed for the door that was immediately opened by the white- haired servant. "Lucien?" Archon's voice drifted across the room and LaCroix turned to face him once more. "She protects the innocent now just as she has for all time. Guard your evil heart or your immortality will belong to her for eternity." ---------------- Julian walked calmly beside Nick as they stepped out into the night air. He stared at the glow around Nick and watched it grow slowly. It was like a throbbing heartbeat, getting larger with every beat of his heart. The fact that Nick's heart so rarely beat made the process long and tedious. He wondered if Nick was even aware. Images of the child flashed in his perfect memory and Julian smiled. Only warmth and love accompanied Nick's memories of the child and the beautiful woman who Julian assumed was the mother. The child was Nick's and his love for both mother and child overshadowed all the evil in his past. He had found the path back to his mortal soul. Did he know? Julian stopped at the edge of the parking lot and took a deep breath before he began. It all was beginning to make sense now. Nick stopped and waited patiently. He'd never felt such strong vibrations from a human before. The man before him had such incredible psychic powers that it actually sucked the oxygen from Nick's lungs when they touched. What had this man seen when they touched? How much did he know and what could Nick do about it? This was not the time or the place for another distraction. He had too many things on his plate already. He and Natalie had to get Nicole out of here and into hiding. "I don't think I've ever met a creature of the night who actually loved a mortal without killing them...let alone father a child with one." Julian watched Nick's expression and realized he'd had centuries to practice his facial control. Only the quick raise of the eyebrow gave away any emotion. "That was very good. How many centuries did it take to master that façade? I'm guessing you're way past 600." "Who are you, Mr. Blackwell?" Nick eyed him closely, but kept the vampire under complete control. "And what do you want from me?" Julian smiled as he sat down on the bumper of the green caddie they'd stopped by. "Yours I presume." He rubbed the fender lovingly. "I always admired these. The color leaves a lot to be desired, but you could never fault the craftsmanship." He faced Nick and smiled once more. "You never know when you might need the extra trunk space." Nick said candidly and denied nothing. "You are different from the others. Most of your kind would have denied what you are or at least tried to convince me my mind was made of mush and force your will on me." He stared at the glow around Nick. "The light around you is getting brighter all the time. I was so confused when I saw you the other night. I got such mixed feeling and felt the anger or should I say rage. Whatever or whoever caused it obviously is no longer a concern." Julian stood and walked to the sidewalk in front of the caddy and stared at the moon. "All my life I've been hiding what I really am," he turned to Nick and smiled. "Sort of like you I would imagine. When I was young I kept hearing all these voices in my head. When I was a child, they were my imaginary friends until I got older and realized the voices I heard were from real people. Well that's not technically always true. Sometimes they were from the spirit world, but what they told me always concerned the living. My mother was terrified I'd be ostracized from the rest of normal society, so she made me keep it secret." The sadness in his voice encompassed his whole body and Nick was not immune. "Why are you here, Julian? What have the voices been telling you about me?" Nick had seen and felt too many things over the centuries to doubt this young man. The electricity around him even now would cause any sensitive person to step back. Julian turned to him with a smile on his face. "I'm simply a messenger, one who has come to tell you to follow your heart not your head. I didn't understand until I touched you. You have come full circle in your life and you must follow the path destiny has chosen for you...and I think they wanted me to meet you." Julian walked over and offered Nick his hand. "I'd lost hope that one person could change anything, but I see that's not true." He shook Nick's hand with confidence and placed the other hand over the top of them both. "Thank you." Nick stood speechless unsure what to say. Julian smiled. "I must go now. Remember what I told you. The voices are never wrong." Nick watched him walk down the sidewalk and disappear into the darkness. Tracy walked up silently behind him. "Well, what did he have to say?" "I'm not sure." Nick said confused as he played the words through his mind and stared at the darkness that had engulfed the strange young man. "All I know is that I think I want his number. He had the most incredible eyes not to mention the as...." "Don't go there, Trace!" Nick halted her and rolled his eyes. "Let's go. We have to check out the scene one more time and see if we can find any clue as to where to find this mystery woman. Then I have a pressing appointment with my daughter." He opened the door and jumped behind the wheel. "When are you leaving?" Tracy said sadly. She would miss him in spite of their differences. Nick turned to her before he spoke. "It's not safe here for Nicole or Natalie, Trace. You know that. If I'm guessing, my life is #1 on the 'to be staked list' with the Enforcers about now as well. I know if LaCroix's anger is any clue, we need to hurry." He started the engine and it roared to life. Eng Part 7 Part 8 ---------------- Nick parked the caddy near the demolished building. Smoke still smoldered in places, leaving the burnt-wood smell heavy in the air. There were only a few white lines where they'd found the bodies to indicate the loss of life at the scene. Six sets were visible all clustered together near the center of the building. Nick wasn't interested in them, but the surrounding area. "What are we looking for, Nick?" Tracy edged the debris and flashed her flashlight into the dark crevices that were still smoldering. "I wish I knew, Trace, but I'll know it when I see it." Nick expanded his search area and entered the small grove of trees to the right of the destroyed building. They seemed untouched by the heat. He stared at them in surprise and touched the leaves to see. A feeling of warmth ebbed from the leaves and he recognized it instantly. He searched the area closely. In the shadows stood the lone figure of a woman. When she lifted her head, her bright green eyes were like beacons in the night calling to him. He took a step forward automatically. She stepped into the dim light and eyed him closely. "You've changed, Nicholas de Brabant!" She touched the tree and the warmth he'd felt only seconds before amplified ten-fold. "You protected the trees from damage, why not the people?" He stared at her lithe muscular form, as the wind blew soft, dark curls off her shoulders. She was beautiful and filled with something he couldn't put his finger on, but his soul recognized it. He struggled to touch it, but it was just out of reach. "I only protect the innocent, Nicholas, but somehow I think you already knew that." She felt him try to reach out to her and she smiled. "Yes, even though your mind doesn't remember...your soul does. It has never forgotten. You are here at this place, this time for a reason. Just as you were that night 767 years ago." "Who are you?" Nick whispered in awe as she stepped deeper into the light. His emotions were on edge, but he felt content and happy for the first time in his life. "You must learn to see with your heart, Nicholas de Brabant. Let it be your guide. What you feel is reality, what you see can only be a guide." She touched his cheek and sighed in contentment as his emotions flowed into her. "As to who I am...I am the future, the past...all that was and all that shall be if you follow your heart." She smiled. "Your life shall not be judged by the evil within you, but the good your soul shares with all humanity." "Nick!" Tracy screamed as she rounded the corner and headed for the alley. "NOOOOOOO!" Natalie's voice echoed through the stillness of the night. Nick recognized it instantly. He ran toward the alley in time to see LaCroix toss Natalie across the open space and smash her fragile body into the brick wall. Nicole's tiny cry made him use his vampire speed. He stopped to find the alley surprisingly empty. Tracy ran into him seconds later. "Where are they?" She said breathlessly as she searched the vacant alley then turned to her confused partner. "Where did they go? You saw them. It was Natalie and Nicole. LaCroix had the baby. He tossed Natalie across the alley." She began searching behind the dumpster, then the garbage cans in frustration and confusion. "They aren't here, Trace." Nick said softly as he scanned the area and finally understood. "It's a premonition of things to come. That's what all these people have been seeing. The evil is getting stronger. We've got to hurry. I've got to get Nat and Nicole out of here...NOW!" He stared at her with fear etched deeply into his normally indifferent face. "You take the car." He bolted into the air and was gone. -------------- Nicole fussed continually now. Something was wrong. Natalie checked her temperature and color, but she was fine. The small hum she felt when Nick was in trouble was now a throbbing ache in the back of her head. She wondered if Nicole could feel it as well. Odd she'd never noticed it before. She touched her neck and felt the tiny puncture marks and remembered. Images and feelings overwhelmed her both frightening and exciting at the same time. He'd taken her blood, but obviously there were other things that had transpired. She snatched Nicole and bundled her up tightly. She had to find Nick. As she stepped into the garage they appeared on both sides of her. The power that radiated from them screamed Enforcer and she knew they were in trouble. She clutched Nicole to her breast. "Come, come...Doctor." LaCroix stepped out of the shadows. "We talked about this before. You were told the consequences if you returned." The Enforcer to her right reached for her but she sidestepped him and turned away toward the corner. Nick appeared from nowhere and tackled both of them at once. Enraged and terrified for his family, Nick battled valiantly. He tossed the first Enforcer across the warehouse into the wall. The force caused the beam to shatter and the ceiling to start to collapse. The Enforcer screamed in rage. As the battle continued, Nick lost ground. Their age and power were like an unstoppable machine. "Run, Natalie!" Nick yelled as he ran a stake through the Enforcer's shoulder only to miss his heart by inches. The other one grabbed him from behind. Together they forced Nick struggling to his back on the floor of the garage and sank their fangs deep within his neck. LaCroix watched without emotion and kept Natalie restrained. Nick screamed in frustration and pain as they continued to drain him. "Let it be, Doctor. The father or the child...which do you choose? Which would Nicholas choose?" His eyes locked with hers and she saw something completely foreign in his eyes. "He's your son and Nicole is your granddaughter." She said in disbelief. "How can you...?" "Give her to me." He said softly. It was not a command, but a plea. Natalie refused to believe it. "Never! I will die first." One of the Enforcers grabbed her arm with one hand and smeared Nick's blood from his face onto his opposite sleeve. She shoved a syringe into his side in one swift motion and pushed the plunger. He stared at her amused until his blood began to burn. "Holy water I'm told is caustic to a vampire." He slammed her hard against the wall. She felt Nicole slip from her arms. The Enforcer burst into flames as the second one lunged from Nick's side toward her. LaCroix caught the child in one arm and planted a wooden stake into the second Enforcer's heart as he landed. Nicole cried, then calmed as the Enforcer collapsed to his knees and died. LaCroix heard the arrow before he saw it and turned to protect the child. The wooden shaft imbedded itself into his right shoulder instead of his heart. He grunted slightly, but still retained his grip on the child. Anger engulfed him. He handed Nicole gently back to her mother and ripped the wooden shaft from his shoulder with barely a grunt. Natalie wrapped Nicole in her arms and rushed to Nick's side, only to have Archon appear from the shadows and jerk Nick's limp body into his arms. "Nick!" Natalie screamed as she tried to hang onto Nick and Nicole at the same time. She lost the struggle quickly. She fought the tears bravely and held onto her fear. Now was not the time for panic. He glared at her malevolently then turned his attention back to LaCroix whose reactions had been slowed due to his injury. Archon snapped the end of the arrow and placed the shaft over Nick's heart. LaCroix stopped immediately. "I knew you'd never kill your own son." He snarled in disgust as he shook Nick's limp form. "He has always been your weakness, Lucien. I should have killed him centuries ago when I heard the rumors, but you are very convincing and so is he. All the fights, all the anger between the two of you, you had me convinced...well, almost. When he is departed from us maybe you'll come to your senses." He turned to Natalie, who made no attempt to hide her anger. He glanced at the child and smirked. LaCroix moved slightly and Archon pushed the stake into Nick's shoulder until blood covered his silk shirt. "Without the father, the child cannot survive...we all know that." He laughed hysterically. "He should never have been one of us, but he was meant to find her." Her glanced at Natalie. Her anger was a physical force now and he laughed. "She would make an excellent vampire, Lucien. You should bed her and make her one of us. Then she won't be able to breed again. Passion and anger all rolled into a pretty package...no wonder de Brabant lost his perspective on reality." "You will never leave here alive, Archon. I promise you that!" LaCroix's controlled anger seethed under his breath, but his facial expression never changed. Archon laughed once more. "You are no match for my power, LaCroix. Let me show you." He pushed outward with his power only to find it immediately sucked away. He stared at LaCroix in shock. "This isn't possible. You do not have the power to..." "But I do." Her soft voice echoed behind his ear and he jumped. The stake pierced his heart instantly and he realized his mistake. "You should have been a little more tolerant, Archonesis. Only when pure evil controls your soul can I release you into the hands of your master." The stake in his hand pulled free from Nick's chest as he slumped forward and gave into the darkness of his soul. "Rachel?" Natalie said confused as she stared at her landlord of the past few months. Rachel smiled. "You were never alone, Natalie. Innocence and true love is to be protected." She reached over and uncovered Nicole's face. "She looks well and so do you. It would appear love does conquer all." She smiled and the happiness reached her eyes. She pulled Archon away from Nick and laid her hand over Nick's shoulder. The bleeding stopped and he began to heal. When she stood, she stared at LaCroix with a knowing smile. "It would appear there are some things stronger than blood...even for you, Lucien. You must take your family to safety and find the answers together." She stood and the soft leather whispered her departure even before she moved. It was more than clothing, but a part of her responding to her will. She ran a hand down her thigh lovingly and let the leather encase her totally now until only her glowing green eyes shown through the soft material. Her hair was now gone as well as the flowing coat and she stood before them in her natural state, vibrating with energy encased in a living breathing skin. "I will be watching you today...tomorrow...forever," her voice echoed in the cold silent air, then she was gone. End Part 8 Part 9 ---------------- LaCroix picked up Nicholas and headed for the caddy. He turned briefly to see if she followed. Natalie sat confused. "Unless you have some hidden talents that I'm not aware of, Doctor, I suggest you bring your daughter and get behind the wheel or I shall leave you for a faster mode of transportation." He stepped over the fender and sat down in the backseat with Nick draped over his lap. Natalie laid Nicole in the passenger seat and jumped behind the wheel. "Where to?" She asked without glancing at him. "Just drive, Doctor. I will tell you where to turn." They headed out of town and Natalie kept one hand on Nicole and a prayer on her lips as she fought the tears trying to fight their way to the surface. After an hour, they pulled over at a small roadside park when Nicole began to fret in earnest. "I have to feed her." Natalie said, filled with fear as she turned to the back seat. She found LaCroix still holding Nick in his arms. Both men had their eyes closed. Frightened by their stillness, she checked Nick quickly and found a slow steady pulse. His skin was warm to the touch and he was breathing in slow even breaths. She gasped and smiled. She caressed his skin and said another prayer of thanks, only to have reality bring her back to the consequences. "It would appear you both got what you asked for." LaCroix's voice startled her and she jumped in response. "He is mortal...and he is dying." He said unemotionally. Natalie checked Nick again and quickly understood. "We are all dying, LaCroix. Some of us just do it faster than others. Bring him over here while I feed Nicole. I'll see if I can get some fluids into him to help." She opened the door, picked up the baby and headed for the nearby picnic table without looking back. Would he help or would he revert back to the arrogant evil creature she'd known for over 7 years. When she looked up, he was laying Nick flat on his back on the picnic table. She unbuttoned her blouse and freed her breast. Placing Nicole at her breast she helped her find the target. Only when the infant began to suck vigorously did Natalie turn her attentions back to the man in her life. When she looked up, she found LaCroix staring at Nicole suckling her breast. She smiled…even evil was touched by this small bundle of joy. There was hope for mankind yet. "My bag is on the floorboard. Get it and we'll get and IV set up for Nick." Seconds later he handed her the black bag. One handed, she pulled out what she needed. Handing him a bag of plasma, she watched his eyes flare golden for a brief second before he regained control. "That one is for you." She said knowingly. She shoved another into his other hand. "Hold that one up here while I run this shunt into Nick's arm." She set to work one handed and avoided looking at him while he drank the plasma straight from the bag. It was slow going and required the use of her teeth to tear the tape, but she managed to get the needle safely into Nick's arm. He still had not moved and it concerned her. She checked his vitals and they were getting stronger. He was becoming more human with every breath. When she changed breasts with Nicole, she added a shot of antibiotics to the IV line for safe measures. Heavens knows what Nick's immune system would be like. She brushed a stray lock from his forehead and sighed heavily. Why now? A single tear slid down her cheek followed by another. "Tears of joy, Doctor?" LaCroix wiped the tear from her face. Startled, she pulled back. There was a great sadness in his voice and she caught it instantly. Was he really unaware? "I hardly think watching the man I love be forced to give up the one thing that has meant more than life itself is reason for celebration. Does watching Nick suffer make the pain of your loss of Fleur disappear? Or does the knowledge that we have to chose between each other or our daughter make you feel like the victor?" She cuddled Nicole closer with one arm and wrapped her fingers around Nick's hand. "But you knew that from the beginning, didn't you?" Another tear slid silently down her face and she gave into the pain within her heart. He left her to weep in the silence of the night. Unfamiliar feelings touched his cold heart and he wasn't prepared for any of it. He stopped at the edge of the clearing and took a deep breath. What was it about her that created this emotion in him? Until now, only Nicholas could cause this upheaval and loss of control. This had to stop. "Obviously there are things stronger than blood." Rachel's words whispered through the trees and for the first time in centuries...he felt peace. He turned and looked at Natalie weeping on Nick's shoulder still clutching Nicole in her arms and he felt a strange sense of belonging. How was this possible? He done nothing but try to possess the passion within his son and force him to accept his true nature. Realization finally hit him. He'd been doing just that. Each obstacle he'd thrown in front of Nicholas had done nothing but make him more determined. Every time he'd inflicted pain upon his son, the passion within him flared brighter and deeper. He was responsible for this. His son was mortal again because he had forced his true nature to the surface. The evil of the vampire was not the real Nick. LaCroix sank to his knees in shock. "Today...tomorrow...forever! I will be watching you." He searched the darkness for her, knowing full well she wasn't really there. Destiny has its way of finding you versus the other way around. He'd been blind and a fool. LaCroix sat on his heels and took a deep breath of the cool night air to regain his composure. It was time to accept the truth, accept his part in this design. He stood and watched the young couple before him...his family. For better or for worse they were all destined to be at this point in their lives. He stood and walked back to the table. Nicole fussed slightly alerting Natalie of his return. When he got closer she quieted once more. "We must go now, Doctor. It will be dawn in a few hours." He leaned over and picked up Nick's limp form and they headed back to the car. Moments later they were on the road in silence once more. ---------------------- Natalie sat behind the wheel and waited as LaCroix disappeared inside the large house. It was very secluded and to her best guess, about 50 miles outside Montreal. She always loved this area of the country, but so rarely got out to enjoy the countryside. About 10 minutes later LaCroix returned and instructed her to drive around back. Off to the west of the main house sat a small, well-kept cottage. Obviously, well taken care of but uninhabited. LaCroix produced a key from his pocket and flipped on the lights when he stepped inside. She waited in the car once more until he returned. "Let's go, Doctor. We stay here for a few days until Nicholas recovers enough to travel further." He picked up Nick as if he weighed nothing and headed inside. Natalie scooped up Nicole and her few belongings then rushed inside out of the cold night air. It was small, quaint family room in the center of the cottage with 3 doors off to the back. To the side a small kitchen and dining area sat unlit from use. Only the low hum of the refrigerator could be heard in the background. LaCroix stepped out of one room and left the door open. Without acknowledging her presence, he set to work building a fire in the fireplace. Natalie headed for the room he'd come out of to check on Nick. Lying Nicole beside her father, she checked all Nick's vitals once more. He was having difficulty breathing and she needed help if she were ever to get his ribs taped up. When she returned to the living room, she found a roaring fire and the lights on in the kitchen. A low tap at the door caught her attention, but LaCroix was there before she could blink. A young man carrying a box appeared and smiled when he met her eyes. He bowed in respect and returned his attention to the ancient vampire before him. "Thank you, Anthony. Tell your father his efforts are flawless as usual." Anthony nodded then disappeared back toward the main house. "I need your help, LaCroix." She said softly as he headed back to the refrigerator. He unloaded the bottles of blood before he spoke. "It belongs to Nicholas, Doctor, if that is what you want to know." He stood and eyed her closely still unsure of himself for the first time in his life. "Thank you for explaining, but I need your help with Nick while I set his ribs. I need to do it before he wakes up. It will be too painful if he's conscious and he's been through enough. His body is already in shock." "I could eliminate that problem quickly." He raised an eyebrow to see if she understood. "That is not my decision." She answered sadly, then turned and headed for the bedroom once more. Fifteen minutes later they'd managed to set all Nick's ribs and bind them tightly. He groaned in pain several times, but that was the extent of Nick's participation in the project. Nicole began to fuss, so Natalie took her into the kitchen and fed her while LaCroix retreated to the other bedroom and closed the door. The cottage was completely stocked with fresh orange juice and milk. It must have cost a fortune to keep a place like this in a constant state of readiness then she remembered...money was not a problem for Nick. After changing the baby, she placed her in a makeshift bed of heavy quilts on the floor by the fire and set about finding nourishment for herself. An hour later she and Nicole joined Nick in the bedroom and fell fast asleep. --------------- He could hear Nicole cooing to herself. Nick smiled and listened as his body fought toward consciousness. Warmth spread through him along with enormous pain with every breath he took. He gasped which only made it worse. "It's okay, Nick. Just don't move too quickly. Your ribs are broken." Natalie's soft voice was music to his ears and he opened his eyes immediately. He wasn't dreaming. "Nat?" He said hoarsely and wet his lips with his tongue, then tried again. "Yes, I'm here and so is Nicole." She brushed the blond lock of hair from his forehead. This was so unfair. Her heart tore into pieces as she watched him realize what had happened. Nick tried to move but the pain was everywhere and he was burning up. He tried to calm himself and listen for Natalie's heartbeat but it wasn't there. Suddenly he realized the only heartbeat he could hear was his own. He touched his heart in surprise and looked at her startled. "I'm..." he smiled, then looked terrified. He turned to see Nicole lying beside him. "Nicole...have you tried my blood with hers." Fear laced his voice as he reached for his tiny daughter. She cooed at her father's touch. He turned back to Natalie and saw the answer in her eyes. "No...not now! This can't be happening now." He reached to her for comfort and he doubled in pain for his efforts. She grabbed his hand and pulled him into her arms before she spoke. "It's too soon to know anything. Nicole is fine for now. I have to see what it looks like under the microscope. We won't know anything until then." She fought the fear bravely, but he sensed it. "It won't work will it? My blood as a mortal won't stop the vampire gene from attacking her normal cells." He held her face between his hands and saw the fear in her eyes. "I'm right, aren't I?" He waited but already knew the answer. She caressed his face and smiled sadly. "I wish I could answer that, Nick, but I can't. We can't mix your blood with Nicole's without me looking at it first under the microscope. We can't take any chances. She's fine." She rubbed a finger down the infant's face as she lay peacefully in her father's arms. "Maybe she won't even need any more of your blood. I just don't know and I don't want you second guessing this." She looked at him and smiled. "You're mortal, Nick. Can't we just be happy for a little while and forget about everything else?" She leaned in and kissed him gently, which he responded immediately and deepened the kiss. Moments later his mouth was devouring hers feverishly until they both broke the embrace panting. "I don't think you're ready for that yet, Nick Knight. She smiled and noticed the bulge in his tight jeans. "But I intend to remember exactly where we left off once your ribs are healed. " He leaned his forehead against hers and pushed into the warmth and love he felt inside. How could this be wrong? It all felt so right. "One day at a time. I promise!" He whispered as he held his daughter in one arm and Natalie in the other. Kissing her temple he lay back on the bed and placed Nicole beside him possessively. "Tell me what happened. Where are LaCroix and the Enforcers?" "He saved us all, Nick. The Enforcers attacked and after they drained you, they came after us. I managed to inject holy water into one of them, but LaCroix killed the second one. Some Ancient by the name of Archon was there as well and he tried to shoot me, but LaCroix stepped in front of the arrow. He protected both Nicole and myself at the same time. He gave me back Nicole and started toward you...only Archon was too fast. I managed to get to your side, but Archon intended on staking you. LaCroix distracted him enough until Rachel showed up and staked him from behind." Natalie's mind replayed the events over and over and again and she was still confused. "Rachel? Who is Rachel?" Nick tried to make her return to the facts. "She is...was... my landlady and friend. She showed up about a week after I did and took over the apartment complex as a manager. We became friends. She was there with me all during my pregnancy and at delivery as well. She was actually my coach during your daughter's birth. She was the only thing that kept me from going crazy when I was so sick. During the delivery I would have died if she hadn't been there. There was so much pain and I missed you so much, but was afraid to tell you." She looked at him for understanding. "I wanted to tell you that you had a daughter, but I was terrified LaCroix would take it out on you or the Enforcers would come after us and then you. Rachel was there every time I had doubts. She made me see the brighter side and helped me keep my hope intact for a future for all of us. There was such innocence and faith in her, that it kept me going. It made me strong enough to get through it all, but I don't know why she was here. She said I was never alone. What did she mean by that? What is she? She changed from the beautiful woman I knew into something completely breathtaking and then disappeared. Her skin wasn't really skin, but a living energy encased in a covering that was alive itself. Her long dark hair became a leather cap and her beautiful green eyes that always made me feel contented became the center of her very being. I don't know what Rachel is, but she issn't human and she was very old. Archon knew her and he turned into dust at my feet leaving only the stake she'd killed him with behind. I've never seen a vampire turn to dust after they were staked. She stared into Nick's bright blue eyes. "She's been watching over us. I know that now, but I don't know why. Have you seen her before?" "I saw her the other night and she was so familiar." His mind drifted back into the past, both recent and long ago, and the same feeling of peace he'd felt before returned. He smiled with a new- found understanding. "She came to warn me, to protect you and Nicole..." He thought a bit longer and realized it was more than that. "She was protecting the innocent. It all makes sense." He leaned over and caressed Nicole's angelic face as she lay sleeping beside him. "All the drug dealers, the child abusers, the vampires she destroyed, they all preyed on innocent children. Don't you see?" He stared at his daughter once more feeling better about the situation altogether. "Surely she wouldn't have left if Nicole was in danger. Maybe this means my blood will work even now?" He let hope touch his voice and smiled. "Maybe my becoming mortal is what Nicole needs to survive." Hope soared as he tried applying logic to his mortality and his daughter's existence, but something was missing and he knew it. "I don't know why or how you became mortal, Nick. All I know is that your heart is beating and the blood running through your veins is human, just like mine. I'm not going to question it...just enjoy it." She brought her lips back to his and wrapped her arms around him gently, being careful of his injured ribs. "We start our lives over tonight together as a family." He pulled her down beside him and wrapped her in his arms as his daughter slept beside them. Within minutes they were asleep. End Part 9 All comments to: Part 10 -------------- It was well past 2am and LaCroix rolled another log onto the fire. As much as he'd tried to understand this whole situation, the less tolerant he became. His son was the father of a half-mortal child, Nicholas' human side had overpowered the vampire within his blood and they were all in danger from the council and the Enforcers. He had killed an Enforcer and did nothing to prevent the death of the head of the Ancient Council. His blood flowed in the veins of a child that could potentially destroy the entire vampire community if she lived to be an adult. His son was weak as a kitten and the good doctor was no fool. Things had to change or the chaos would only become worse. He stabbed a poker into the fire and felt the familiar hum of Nicholas' presence. He didn't need to see his son, to know he was there. The connection between them was still intact. He wondered if Nicholas could feel it as well. "Yes, I can feel it." Nick's voice floated across the room and it warmed LaCroix's cold heart. "It would appear even as a mortal we are still connected." LaCroix said unmoved as he stood to face his son. "I am told I am in your debt once more." Nick eyed LaCroix closely. Centuries of practice told him not to offer too much or read anything into LaCroix's recent activities. His actions usually had an ulterior motive. LaCroix simply nodded and returned to the fire once more to stare into it silently. Nick came to his side. "Tell me why, LaCroix. Tell me why you risked the Council's wrath and staked an Enforcer. It's not like you. What's in it for you?" Nick stood patiently waiting and it didn't take long. LaCroix was behind him in the time it takes to breath crushing Nick's weakened body into his. Nick's broken ribs screamed in protest and he gasped for breath as the pain tore through his entire body. "Is this what you wanted, Nicholas...pain...and death." He pulled harder and Nick groaned in response as his ribs pushed deeper into his chest. "I'm sure you're looking forward to growing old with the good Doctor, but just how are you going to protect your family in this pathetic state." He released him and Nick stumbled to his knees gasping for breath. He glared at his father in anger and coughed blood. "Being mortal doesn't mean I can't protect my family." He coughed once more and gasped for air, but refused to give into his weakness. LaCroix reached to help him and Nick slammed a needle into his thigh just as he jerked him to his feet. LaCroix realized his mistake when he saw the anger in his son's eyes. Nick's hand rested over the plunger. "Strength does not always make you the victor. Don't make me push the plunger. I really am not ready to lose the only father I've ever really known." LaCroix stopped instantly and stared into his son's face and saw something he wasn't sure he deserved. Nick pulled the syringe out of LaCroix's thigh and tossed it across the room. "Kill me if you're going to, but be prepared to protect my daughter and Natalie. I will hold you responsible even beyond the grave. When you play games there is a price." The room began to spin and he saw the floor coming to greet him. The darkness overwhelmed him and he gave into it willingly. LaCroix caught him before he hit the floor. "Why do you try me, Nicholas?" He watched the other syringe drop from Nick's grasp and fall harmlessly to the floor. LaCroix smiled. What had made Nicholas so positive, so certain he would not kill him? Even mortal his son would cause him grief. He picked him up and returned him to the bedroom beside his beloved Natalie. Nicole giggled and squealed, then held out her arms to him as he laid Nick beside Natalie on the bed. Unable to resist, he picked her up and returned to the living room and the fire. He sat and watched her play with her own feet contentedly then she attacked his finger. He smiled at her antics and she was perfectly happy. "You look just like your father at this age." His memory drifted back to the day he'd first seen Nicholas. He was barely 4 months old. His father had a broken wheel on his wagon and he'd been ready to kill him for dinner when Nicholas caught his attention. He'd been drawn to the child without reason. Somehow, deep inside he knew Nicholas was to be his son. Over the years, he'd checked back on Nicholas to see how he was progressing. When Janette came to him that night in the tavern, he knew instantly whom she spoke about. There was something about him that drew you to his spirit. It was unique and filled with a passion unsurpassed until now. LaCroix stared at the small bundle in his arms. Here was the future. She bit into his finger and he jerked back instinctively then returned it to her mouth. She took one taste, then turned her face away. "Go ahead, little one. It will be alright." He tried to force the blood into her mouth but she pushed it away forcefully yet still didn't cry out in distress. She was unafraid and he was amazed. Surely she'd seen the evil within him in that one taste. Why was she not afraid? Why did she refuse any more? Natalie stood behind him and watched. Her first instinct was to jerk her daughter from the man she'd come to hate over the past 7 years, but Nicole did not fear him. She'd refused his blood after the first taste, but still desired his attention. She would not doubt what her daughter felt. Even at this tender age, it was apparent Nicole had gifts far beyond a normal child. It would not have surprised her to learn her daughter understood everything they said, but maybe her mother's pride was getting in the way of her better judgment. She backed away silently and let grandfather and grandchild bond without interference. "You need not leave, Doctor." LaCroix said without turning around. Natalie froze in her tracks. Startled at first, but then she realized her heartbeat was distinctive. She walked back to the fire and stood before the warmth of the hearth and stared at him intently. "Why the change of heart, Doctor?" The soft cadence of his voice never changed as he continued to play with Nicole's tiny fingers. "I would have thought you'd have staked me at your earliest convenience." He raised a knowing eyebrow and watched her closely like a bug under glass. She was so unpredictable and it intrigued him immensely. "If you mean why do I trust you now with my daughter?" She reached over to brush a blonde curl from Nicole's angelic face. "I don't...but Nicole does...so that is good enough for me." She said calmly and waited for his reaction. Only a slight hesitation with his hand for a brief moment made her aware he was even listening. She knew better of course, but he was always so unreadable. Centuries of practice with his facial expressions had gained him the advantage more times than he could count. She wouldn't fall into any schemes he had in the works...not now...not tonight. "I don't understand you, LaCroix, nor your relationship with Nick but I know my daughter doesn't fear you. That's probably very naïve of her, but you risked your life to save her yesterday and me as well. I am in your debt now just as Nick is. As much as I dislike you, I admire you as well. You are the most single-minded person I've ever met when you want something. That is except...for myself. You spent 800 years trying to keep Nick at your side. Up until Nicole came into my life, I could never understand why. After she was born and I developed an emotional bond to her... I finally understood. He is your son, just as she is my daughter and you would do anything to protect him. You see mortality as a death sentence, so you've been doing what any good parent would do, but last night things changed." She smiled and rubbed a finger slowly down Nicole's face as she lay in her grandfather's lap. She giggled and spit bubbles at her mother. "Last night you choose to make us a part of your family, too." She stared into his cold gray eyes and wondered why. "The question is why or does the fact that your blood runs in her veins answer that. I don't know at this point. Maybe you'd care to enlighten me." She stood and held out her arms for Nicole. LaCroix laid the baby in her arms gently and analyzed her closely. "You are very perceptive, doctor. I see now why Nicholas is so enthralled with you, but you must face reality. Nicholas is my son and shall always be. This little detour into mortality means nothing. He is as he is meant to be and nothing you do can change that. It will not be long before he realizes his mistake." He touched the child gently and she latched onto his finger with a tight grip. "She is a child of a mortal and a vampire...not two mortals. Even you know what that means." He stared into Natalie's eyes knowingly. "Only a vampire can protect you from the Enforcers and even then it is doubtful. They will come after her and no matter what happens between Nicholas and yourself, he will be forced to return to his true nature to protect his family. Understand that now and it will be much easier on you when the time comes." He turned and picked up his coat lying over the chair and headed for the door. Natalie fought her tears because she knew there was truth in his words. "No matter what he is, I shall always love him and so will Nicole. We are part of a whole, just as you are, LaCroix and only time will determine our destiny. Nick will walk in the light with his daughter if it is meant to be, but the choice will be his...not ours. " She turned and headed toward the bedroom. "Goodnight, LaCroix." She said softly and closed the bedroom door. End Part 10. Part 11 Adult Natalie sat down in the chair beside the bed and freed her breast. With little coaxing Nicole latched onto her nipple and began to suck vigorously. The warmth she always felt between her daughter and herself flooded her body from head to toe. She brushed Nicole's hair away from her face as the child suckled her breast, then she turned to find Nick staring at her. "You're beautiful like that." He said and smiled at the picture before him. "You were always meant to be a mother. I can't believe it has taken me this long to see it." He rose slowly due to his injuries and knelt at her side and held Nicole's tiny hand in his own as she fed. She gripped her father's finger tightly as she vigorously suckled her mother's breast. He stared into Nat's eyes. "You should have had children a long time ago and it's my fault. I should have walked away and let you find some nice normal guy that could have given you lots of babies with a big house and a white picket fence so you could be happy. You shouldn't be worrying about whether you will live to see the morning or whether our daughter will be normal. I am so sorry...I can't..." She placed a finger over his lips, then leaned over and kissed him softly. "I'm not! I love you Nick Knight and nothing has made me happier than to have our baby. A child created in love and passion. Don't you see...Nicole is a gift from God? Whatever happens today or tomorrow doesn't matter as long as you love us too. There is no such thing as normal. You know that deep inside here," she touched his heart and smiled. "Whether you walk in the darkness or the light, the love inside you is your guide. Nothing can change that. Ever since I have met you, you have always done what is right...no matter what the cost. Most of the men I have ever met were only interested in one thing...and it wasn't what's in here," she pointed to her head and smiled. "I'll take a man who loves the whole package any day." She caressed his cheek with her fingertips and questioned. "You do love the whole package, don't you?" She asked in a whisper. He kissed the palm of her hand. "I think I have loved you from the first day we met. You saw the monster before you saw the man and didn't run away screaming. Do you know what that meant to me? Do you know how much it hurt me when you left with just a note? That night we came home from the hospital and I didn't know my name or yours...I wasn't scared because inside I knew I loved you and you loved me. All the time you were gone that is what kept me sane. The love we shared that night is a part of me that no one can ever replace or take away." He caressed Nicole's cheek. "When you told me she was mine, you made me the happiest man on earth. No matter what happens, no matter what you both need...know that I give it willingly to you both because I love the 'whole package' as you put it...today and forever. Never doubt it." He rose and offered her his hand. "Let me show you how much I love you." Natalie laid Nicole on the palette of blankets she'd made on the floor and willingly went into his embrace. The first taste of his lips was magic. Warmth spread through her limbs and she was wet for him instantly. His fingertips traced her face as his tongue delved into every corner of her mouth and devoured her. Each touch was a promise, each kiss an enticement and she responded immediately. Her breast began to leak milk and she groaned in embarrassment, but he would have none of it. He pulled her blouse over her head and undid her bra almost in one motion. He stared at her full breasts and sighed with pleasure as he watched the milk slowly drip from her nipples. "Do you know how sexy that is?" He wiped the milk with his fingertips and tasted it before he met her eyes. He saw pure lust and he was lost to it. She pulled his mouth to her breast and offered herself to him without hesitation. He suckled her breast but for a moment until she groaned in pleasure and all her fluids began to flow freely. He pushed slacks and panties from her hips and she stepped out of them as she kissed the top of his blond head. His fingers played havoc with her senses and she wanted nothing more than to writhe beneath him naked. He sensed it immediately and stripped off his clothes. He stood before her nude except for the tape around his ribs. The bruising quite evident above and below the tape caused her to hesitate. "We shouldn't...Your ribs might..." He pulled her hard into his body and devoured her lips as he ground his stiff shaft into her thigh. "Tell me you don't want me and I'll stop." He stopped and held her face between his hands and waited. "I want you...I have always wanted you." She whispered as his lips met hers. He picked her up and carried her to the bed. Slowly he caressed her with his body and his hands as he stretched on top of her. He nuzzled her neck and let his hands trail down her sides in an invitation. She arched beneath him until his hard manhood was nestled between her legs begging entrance. She caressed the head of his penis with her mound in an open invitation and grabbed his hands in hers. "Love me, Nick, the way we were meant to love." He held her hands above her head and impaled her with one stroke. She moaned in appreciation as he began to move and met him stroke for stroke. She was certain his ribs had to be killing him, but the feelings he created inside her burst into a burning flame. He stopped and tried to catch his breath, but it only made her crave him more. She arched and ground her pelvis harder into his until he found the perfect spot and she screamed in pleasure. "Nick, please..." she moaned as he ground his stiff cock into her g-spot and refused to give her respite. He watched her face as her body claimed it's prize then he felt her begin to contract around him. She loved him body and soul all evident in her face. She was so beautiful and he would love no other for all eternity. It was only now that he realized he'd probably never truly understood what love meant. She had become a part of him he could never live without. She screamed his name in release and he plunged deeper inside her and rode the wave of passion until he exploded in sheer pleasure. He had no desire to taste her blood, only a desire to make her happy. Lights of color filled with a deep sense of belonging and peace overwhelmed him...and he knew he was home. ------------ LaCroix listened intently to the night breeze trying to shake this feeling of loss. His connection between Nicholas and himself hummed brightly which he knew meant only one thing. It only made the feeling of cold so familiar to his soul feel harsher. He growled in frustration and took to the night sky. -------------- Natalie placed the bottle of expressed milk in the refrigerator. "I should be back in a couple of hours. I know a friend in Montreal and he has given me the entry codes to the lab. I can look at the blood under the electron microscope and watch the reaction." She fidgeted with her purse and didn't want to look at him. What were they going to do if his blood didn't stop the reaction? "We'll know for sure whether," he stopped her with his finger to her lips. "We will do whatever it takes to keep our daughter alive. I'm not afraid to be vampire...or mortal anymore. We'll find a way to be together no matter what. I promise!" He kissed her forehead and she saw the truth in his eyes. "Vampire or mortal...I love you, Natalie Lambert, and I know you love me too. So go and find out what our daughter needs. We'll be waiting right here." He bounced Nicole until she giggled which made Nat laugh. "Go...you'll get back sooner and we can take up right where we left off before Miss Greedy here wanted her share of mom." He smiled then kissed her softly on the lips and she headed for the car. ------------- It was well past 2 am when Nick laid Nicole on her palette and headed for the refrigerator. He'd finished giving her Nat's last expressed bottle of milk. He glanced at his watch and said a silent prayer. The door burst open and Nick dove instantly for Nicole to cover her with his body. He rolled to his feet carrying his daughter at a dead run toward the bedroom. They were seconds behind him. He'd managed to shove Nicole into the closet for safety when they hit him from behind. He turned and planted the stake firmly into the Enforcer's heart and braced himself for the others. Seconds later he was hit from the side and thrown through the bedroom wall. He was jerked to his feet by a pair of strong hands meant for causing pain. A fist slammed into his side and he screamed in agony as he ribs tore into his pancreas and lungs with no mercy. Nick shoved the needle into the closest arm and pushed the plunger. The Enforcer released him in horror as the holy water coursed through his veins and he began to burn from the inside. Screams of agony ripped the silence of the night into a living nightmare as the third Enforcer once again tossed Nick into the other room near the fireplace. They had been totally unprepared for any retaliation and realized their mistake. Nicole began to cry and caught the Enforcer's attention. A change of tactics was in order. Knight was mortal, but not helpless...and he was prepared. Bellok headed for the child. Dazed, Nick picked himself off the floor and searched for the Enforcer. Fear gripped his heart as he watched him turn and head for the closet. Blood poured from Nick's mouth and nose causing breathing to be nearly impossible. His entire body screamed in protest as he moved, but he refused to give up. Nicole's life depended on it. He reached for the crossbow under the couch and took aim. Belloc recognized his mistake too late. Pain shot through him as he stared at the wooden arrow now protruding out of his chest. He looked at the child on the floor and felt compassion not fear. She smiled at him and held out her hand. He reached for her tiny fingers and hope flooded his soul as he gave into the darkness. Nick collapsed to one knee and gasped for breath. He had to get to Nicole. He could hear her and see the body of the Enforcer lying still on the carpet in front of her. With the help of the couch, he rose shakily to his feet only to fall again when he lost it's support. Pain ravaged his body and he could feel the darkness tempting his weary body. Blood flowed freely from his mouth as he dragged himself on all fours toward his daughter. Five more feet and he would be there, but the room was spinning hopelessly now and he couldn't think clearly. The pain was now gone and he was filled with a familiar cold he'd grown to hate over the centuries. "No!" He screamed in frustration and fought it. LaCroix stepped over the first body and headed for his son. He could hear his failing heart and was suddenly filled with remorse, typical Enforcers...early and unpredictable. Why could they never follow instructions? Instinctively he already knew the answer. "Nicholas," he growled as he picked his ravaged son's body off the floor. LaCroix took one glance at the dead bodies scattered around the room then planted his fangs deep into Nick's neck. Images of the fight, Nick's fear for Nicole and the hours of passion he'd spent in bed with Natalie washed over him and LaCroix wanted more. Passion, lust, love all rolled into a ball of undeniable energy coursed into his veins and he was reminded of why Nicholas meant so much to him. He tore himself from his neck as Nick's heart began to fade into oblivion. He ripped open his wrist and shoved it into his son's mouth. "NO!" Natalie screamed as she ran into the room. She shoved the needle into his shoulder before he could bat her away. He glared at her in anger waiting for Nick to accept his blood. "Drink, Nicholas. It is your only chance to survive. Do it for you daughter. Drink, Nicholas!" Still Nick did not drink. Natalie regained her footing and came at him again. He grabbed her wrist and brought her to her knees beside them. "Call him back, woman! Do you want your child to live with the guilt that her father chose a life he hates to save hers?" He held Natalie's wrist with one hand, but didn't snap it. He stared into her eyes and found pain and need, not anger. "Can you live with the guilt with making him choose? " He saw the denial in her eyes. "I can!" He pulled his own wrist to his mouth once more and ripped it further until his blood poured across his son's face. "We all lose if he dies now and he will never come back for me...Do it!" He was barely in control, but she recognized the truth in his words. "Come back to me, Nick. Come back to Nicole. She needs your love and your blood. Don't leave us now or we are all lost. You promised we'd find a way no matter what." Tears flooded her face and she heard Nicole whimper in the other room. She jumped up and ran into the bedroom to recover her daughter. They returned to Nick's side. "We're both here, Nick. Come back to us and we'll find a way to get through this. Please, Nick!" Nicole began to cry and squirm. Natalie finally laid her on her father's chest and she calmed immediately. "Stay with us, Nick...please." She kissed his forehead and laid her cheek next to his as his heart finally beat its last stroke. The pain had disappeared as the cold crept over him. It was so familiar and he hated the feel of it. He opened his eyes and he was in the desert. The sun was so bright it hurt. Startled, he turned around searching for the door. He'd been here before. The light became brighter until she stepped into view. Her long, dark curly hair blew in the wind that moved the sand beneath his feet. She walked toward him and he recognized her once more. "Welcome, Nicholas. I see you have once again stepped over the threshold into the doorway to eternity." She held out her hand and waited for him to accept it, which he did without hesitation. Eternal peace washed over him and it felt good. She smiled. "Let's take a walk, shall we?" The leather pants became a part of her and grew slowly over her entire form leaving only her bright green eyes shining through the soft, supple dark skin of the leather. Nick stared at her in awe then looked up to see a familiar door. It opened before him and the bright light inside began to throb and glow with a life of its own. Rachel released his hand and stepped into the doorway. "The choice is now yours Nicholas as it has always been. The last time you were here you had unfinished work. This time you can choose to step into the light and wait for your beloved Natalie or return to save the innocent yet unborn. You will not be judged as your heart is guided by love instead of evil. You need not fear your decision either way." Her voice was filled with such passion and conviction it left no room for doubt. "Why are you my guide this time? Once before I was here and LaCroix stood at the portal." He said confused. She smiled and the glow around her began to grow. "I protect the innocent as I have always done. You have come full circle in your life and your heart is as it was when you were a child, so I am your protector as well as your daughter's. As we age, we lose our innocence and only the strength of our love inside sets us on our path toward good or evil. Your life was touched by evil to help bring new hope to other lost souls like yourself. If love is truly the strongest thing in the universe to be treasured by all, then it had to be put to the ultimate test. Not time, not anger or pain could overcome the love inside you...and it destroyed the evil in the process." "Nick, come back to us. We need you! We love you, Nick! Don't leave us now." Natalie's voice echoed across the sands and Rachel smiled. "Nicholas, drink!" LaCroix's voice floated over Natalie's and Nick could feel his pain for the first time. "Yes, he was part of the plan. You would not have lived long enough to meet your soulmate without him. He is as much a part of you as she is. As much a part of you as your daughter, but the evil within him still has control. Beware of its nature and make him look deep inside himself. Pure evil has not claimed his soul or he would have been destroyed along with the others." A small cry carried on the wind and Nick's heart lurched. "Nicole?" He felt her tiny body on his and he was once more connected to the mortal reality. She was his daughter and she needed him. Natalie needed him. He looked at Rachel and she smiled once more. "The door will always be open to you, Nicholas, as long as you follow your heart. In the darkness and in the light I am with you throughout eternity. If you call my name I shall be there." She stepped back into the doorway and he felt himself sucked back into his immortal body once more. LaCroix felt him swallow then suck weakly on his wrist. "That's it, Nicholas. Come back to us!" Nick sucked harder and drew LaCroix's immortal power into his weakened body once more. The immortal bond between father and son was once again sealed in blood. Nick released his wrist and opened his eyes into a different world. The red haze of the vampire was gone, replaced by a green fire that seemed to grow brighter with each breath he took. His injuries were now healed and his body felt strange. He turned to see Natalie crying in relief. The light behind her made her hair glow in the soft light and he reached to touch it out of habit. She grabbed his hand and kissed it softly then his lips. Nicole squirmed on his stomach and he reached to comfort her with one hand and hold the love of his life with the other as he kissed her deeply. He broke the kiss reluctantly and whispered. "Today...tomorrow...forever. A promise I intend to keep." The End Author's note. I hope you enjoyed the story. Sorry if I rationalized LaCroix's behavior in this one, but it just seem to work in the story. If you want to learn more about our illusive Julian Blackwell please join me in my new e-serial that I will be introducing via my webpage. It's a monthly series that will take you behind the scenes of our mysterious Mr. Blackwell as he uses his unusual powers to help protect the innocent and save his own sanity. I will be revamping my webpage and posting a segment hopefully each month along with giving you all the details on how to get a hold of my new novel 'Undercover'. So come join the fun and read along. Starting in April 2001. All comments are welcome at: ****StormyNite at: nitewind@plantnet.com**** ***The Truth is out there!*I just can't find it!*** **NNPacker*BlackHatWatcher*XFileTruthSeeker** *Andromedans*CroweFan*SorboDrooler*GWDFC* ****Go 'UNDERCOVER' & enjoy the ride***A Novel Idea!**** Available soon in paperback, pdf & CD versions: See my webpage!*** >http://www.plantnet.com/~nitewind/Fiction2.html StormyNite Fiction***