All right, here goes my attempt at a sequel. This is the
follow-up story to "Tracy Meets Lacroix," if you haven't
read it yet you probably shouldn't read this, if you don't
have it, email me and I'll send it to you.  anteros@juno.com

Legal twaddle, I own not Forever Knight, nor any of its
characters, yet I still presume to own this, my story and
it's new characters, if thou wouldst like to archive it,
pray do, just keep my name on it. If you object to this
decree, may a thousand unwashed rats find their way to your
bathtubs! <g>

Okay just to be clear this story takes place after "Tracy
Meets Lacroix," where in Lacroix goes to whammy Tracy but he
ends up in bed with her instead. <g>  If you think that's
highly unlikely, maybe you haven't read "Tracy..." and if you
have, but still find it unlikely, well be warned this
follows a similar vein. (Groan...the pun police object)
Despite popular demand Vachon will stay dead, I know the
stake probably wouldn't kill him, but Diva's poison
could've.  I'll write something in the future where he isn't
dead, but in this story ...the Spaniard is dead... There is one
intense human fight scene and one gruesome autopsy report.
Permission to archive at the www.fkfanfic.com site, all DP
pages, and the CP archives.  All others please ask.  Send
all comments and blonde spiky-haired vampires to
anteros@juno.com
I'd like to thank my fearless betareaders, who courageously
faced my unpolished story and made it ten times better.
Renee Miller and Heather Poinsett, thanks tons!

Tracy Grows Up
By: Cousin Mary Jenkins (1-98)
Part1

It had been six months since Tracy had buried Vachon.  She
still missed him sometimes, but had come to the painful
realisation that she had never -truly- loved him. She'd had
a crush.  It was painful to admit because she had had to
come to terms with just how shallow she had been, how naïve
and foolish she'd been.  She'd done a lot of soul searching
in the past few months, and come to the conclusion that her
feelings for Vachon had been a mixture of physical
attraction and fascination in the fact that he was a
vampire.  It didn't reflect very well on her.  She wondered
at his feelings for her.  If they hadn't been just a mirror
image of her's?  If he had been intrigued by a mortal who
knew of their kind.  Vachon had never offered to bring her
across; they'd never even talked about it. She'd always
wondered why that was.  'Maybe he didn't care enough to
consider an eternity with me,' she thought, and not for the
first time. He had cared about her; she knew that.  And
she'd cared about him... but love?  She didn't think so
anymore, on either of their parts.

That night had changed her.  She felt different.  More
confident, secure in who she was...like she'd finally
grown-up.  More than just burying Vachon had happened that
night.  She'd also buried the old Tracy, emerging from that
night was a new person.  Something else had happened that
night too, something she regretted more than her
transformation, and maybe even more than losing Vachon...
She'd slept with Lucien Lacroix, the oldest and most
powerful vampire in Toronto.

******Flashback to that night******

Tracy was still in the bathroom, still in the shower and
still fed up with every thing.  She was not in the mood to
deal with the man in her bed, especially if he -was- a 2000
year-old vampire!  She had been going over the last night's
activities in her head.  Thinking about her betrayal of
Vachon, wondering if there had actually been a true
relationship to betray. She figured her reaction to Lacroix,
while not normal, was -somewhat- understandable.  She was
mad at herself for losing control, she was mad at Vachon for
dying, and she was mad at Lucien Lacroix for a dozen
reasons!  He'd taken advantage of her at her weakest moment.

She let the hot water wash away her rage, along with the
dirt and blood. Tracy wasn't a fool, it wasn't -all- his
fault she'd slept with him. She admitted that once he was
actually in her apartment he had been pretty much been
reacting to her, not trying to make her do anything.   'He
came to kill me, and I seduced him,' she thought with a
snort.  Well, maybe he hadn't come to kill her; she'd
thought that over too, if he'd wanted to kill her, she
-would- be dead.  Tracy had decided he'd most likely come to
make her forget.  Vachon couldn't do it... but an ancient
vampire like Lacroix was more powerful and could presumably
erase all of her memories of his kind easily.  He hadn't
done it though.

Just what did she feel for Lucien Lacroix?  She was
attracted, definitely, but why?  It had to be more than
physical.  He radiated power, control, confidence; it was
those qualities that drew her to him.  She recalled his
hands and mouth on her.  How gentle he'd been with her, how
raw and unrelenting she'd been with him.  His faced was
seared onto her brain.  Whatever she felt for him it wasn't
the soft and gentle things she associated with love.  It was
no where near the tender feelings she'd had for past
boyfriends, Vachon included.  Resentment coursed through her
as she thought of how he made her feel, when all she wanted
was to be numb.  The hot spray of the shower grew cool as
she stood there all her emotions seemed to drain away.  It
didn't matter what she felt for him last night; she felt
nothing now.

She'd been in the bathroom for over two hours trying to
figure out how to get him to leave as quickly as possible.
She didn't want a relationship dammit!  She didn't want to
go through the motions, pretending there was some emotional
connection when there wasn't one.  She just didn't feel
capable of any of it now.  She was empty, and apathetic.
She just wanted to be left alone!   Tracy never had one
night stands, she found the whole idea of them tacky, but...
last night had been a mistake.  She was hoping when she came
out of the bathroom, he wouldn't be there.  That he didn't
have any tender feelings towards her.  She didn't want to
hurt anyone; she just wanted to be left alone.

All her hopes of a simple ending were shattered when she
emerged from the bathroom.  He sat on her bed, still naked
and grinning.  He had -that- grin, that satisfied male look,
full of possessiveness and confidence.  'So much, for
painless,' Tracy thought.

Earlier when Tracy had still been in the bathroom Lacroix
had awoken with a start.  'Where is she,' he'd thought
desperately.  He'd relaxed when he'd realised she was just
the bathroom.  Whether he'd been afraid she might have left
crying or gone off to get a stake he wasn't sure, but all in
all he'd been glad she was just in the shower.  What the
hell was he going to do?  He briefly considered erasing her
memories, but quickly dismissed that thought.  No, whatever
he did, he wouldn't be erasing any bit of her.  She was
-his- now, her and every memory she had.  He wasn't sure
what was going to happen.  How Tracy was going to act when
she came out of that bathroom.  The one thing he did know
was, 'Nicholas will not be happy,' he'd begun to laugh at
that ridiculous thought.  He had much more weighty issues to
deal with than Nicholas's reaction; the most prominent of
which was still in the shower.  He sat up and waited for her
to emerge.

When she came out, he smiled.  Her hair was wet, curling
around her ears in a charming manner.  Her skin was still
pink from the warm water.  He was a little surprised that
she was fully dressed, she even had her shoes on.  His smile
faded as he looked into her face.  She looked tired and
resigned.  "You're still here." She'd said flatly.  A little
bit of him had died when she mumbled that emotionless
statement.  He flinched.

Tracy instantly felt even guiltier.  "Look, I'm... sorry, I
can't..." She didn't finish, just looked at him with silent
pleading eyes.

A small part of Lacroix wanted to go and take Tracy in his
arms and soothe her.  But it was only a small part, a bigger
part, his pride, took over.  All traces of compassion and
tenderness left his face; a cool slightly cruel smile curled
his lips. "Of course my dear, I was just leaving."  He said
as if the entire night had been utterly meaningless to him
as he assumed it was for her.

It was Tracy's turn to flinch.  He'd stood then, and began
to dress.  Tracy went into the front room and waited until
he'd gone.

She felt bad about how it had ended, but she was relieved it
was over.  She looked over the shambles of her home, taking
in the bloodstains, the tracked in mud, garlic stains and
toppled furniture and sighed. Then she began cleaning up her
apartment and her life.

********End Flashback**********

Tracy sighed again.  So many things had changed since that
night.  Her relationship with her parents for one.  It was
completely different now.  She rarely spoke to her father;
he had not taken her new found sense of independence well.
After she'd confronted him about not interfering with her
life and especially her job he'd become very distant.  She
didn't really mind though.  It was a relief not to have to
worry about trying to fight for his approval anymore.  After
the divorce her mother had moved to Vancouver, it made
things much simpler really.

Her police work was improving.  Captain Reese was very
impressed, commenting on her remarkable performance.  Even
her partner was allowing her to take the lead more and more
often.  She'd received a citation for service 'above and
beyond' the call of duty last month after she'd taken out a
sniper on a record store's roof.  She'd climbed up the back
stairs and after talking him in to putting away the rifle
and coming after her she'd knocked him unconscious. They say
she saved dozens of lives.  She had also cracked three cases
that had been on the books as 'unsolvable' and she'd heard
rumours of 'officer of the year,' floating around the
precinct.  And the most satisfying thing about it was that
everyone knew her father had nothing to do with any of it.

Though her professional life was phenomenal, her personal
life was in a shambles. After Vachon's death she'd thrown
herself into her work.  Most of her friends were gone now.
Jody had disappeared, Bruce was in jail and everyone else...
well, she'd just lost touch.  She still tried to be
friendly; she'd taken cupcakes to the M.E.'s after they'd
stayed -way- past the ends of their shifts to help her on
the O'Malley case.  Most people still considered her a
polite and friendly young thing.  She'd even heard one of
the desk officers call her a 'perky airhead' after she'd
brought coffee to someone the officer didn't like. 'Some
things never change,' Tracy thought with a sad smile.
Though she was getting a lot more respect lately overall.
Reese had called it 'personal growth.'

And then there was Nick, her partner, the vampire.  It had
took her long enough to figure it out.  One day, while at
the scene of a particularly bloody double homicide, Tracy
just happened to be looking at her partner as he'd taken his
first peek under the red stained tarp.  She had always
assumed he had some sort of problem with blood, she'd
dismissed it because when she had just been starting out the
sight of blood had made ill too.  But this time, she'd been
looking straight at him.  It hadn't been nausea that made
him flinch away; it had been hunger that flashed across his
face.  In that one instant all the pieces fell together.

The sun allergy, the 'special diet,' the hundreds of little
clues she'd seen but not connected.  She could have screamed
at herself for not seeing it sooner.  She had almost struck
out at him right there.  Instead she'd excused herself,
making some comment about 'getting some air.'  Nick and
Natalie had smiled indulgently at her, they had probably
thought she was reacting to the corpse.  She reasoned
Natalie Lambert knew about vampires, she wondered if they
thought it funny that she hadn't figured it out.  Nick had
to have known about Vachon, there was no way he'd hypnotised
her partner.  She had the sneaking suspicion that Nick was
older and more powerful than Vachon had been.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Send all comment and virtual offerings to anteros@juno.com

Tracy Grows Up
By: Cousin Mary 
Part2

Tracy willed herself to stop thinking over the past again.
"What's done is done," she mumbled under her breath.
"What did you say?"  Nick asked, smiling at her from across
his desk.  They were working on a horrifying serial
kidnap/murder case and he was worried his partner was
getting too involved.  The case seemed to be really getting
to her.

Tracy looked up at him; annoyance etched her features.  He
had no idea she'd figured out his little fanged secret.
After she'd first realised he'd lied to her all those months
she'd been angry.  She'd taken little spiteful revenges:
bringing in home-made garlic bread for the precinct, making
small cutting remarks about betrayals of trust and duty.
But she'd eventually forgiven him.  She figured that in his
own way he'd been trying to protect her.   Her one last and
greatest revenge was her 'grandmother's silver cross.'  The
one she'd bought soon after discovering the truth about her
partner.  She'd made a great show of it at first, showing it
all around the precinct, and especially to her partner.

The thing that upset her most about Nick's not telling her,
besides the fact that he obviously didn't think much of her,
was the fact that he had put her in danger.  Every time they
got into a potentially dangerous situation, Nick could run
off to play hero, not worrying that he could get hurt.

While she would throw herself into harms way to save a
partner who couldn't die! He was basically a decent guy, a
very caring and nice guy. She knew he probably hadn't
thought of it that way, but still that's how it had gone
down on several occasions.  So now, every time they went
into a hostile situation, Tracy would pull out the cross and
kiss it.  She told Nick she thought it brought her luck.

But it was actually a small punishment for Nick, as well as
a reminder to her not to be so trusting.  She had always
been too trusting, especially of her friends and family...
criminals lie not loved ones.  The cross helped her keep
everything in perspective.  It was kind of ironic that a
cross would be her icon against her basic faith in people.

Tracy took a sip of her double mocha and smiled back at her
partner.  Even after everything she still liked him very
much, she just didn't trust him.  "Just thinking out loud,
don't mind me."  She told him.  Nick didn't look convinced,
but he didn't push her.  They started talking about the case
then.  It was a really bad one.

Seven girls ages 14-22 had been kidnapped in the past three
months.  Two weeks ago the bodies had started to turn up.
And Nick and Tracy were the lucky ones assigned the case.
They were now considered the shinning stars of the Toronto
Police Force, so they got all the worst stuff.  So far three
bodies had been recovered.  They decided to head over to the
Medical Examiners' to see if they'd come up with anything.

 Dr. Natalie Lambert was there waiting for them.  "Hi, Nat,"
Grinned Nick as he walked in the brightly lit morgue.
Natalie returned an even bigger grin.

Tracy and Natalie smiled at each other.

"What do you got for us Natalie?"  Asked Tracy, taking the
lead again as she had more and more recently Natalie
noticed.  The coroner had noted the change in Tracy.  She
was more professional, more mature, still nice... just not so
green and eager to please.  'She's grown-up I guess,'
thought Natalie.  The doctor got out her notes and cleared
her throat, "Well, this is Rebecca Damson, age 19, a
sophomore at U of T, she was severally beaten, probably 'til
unconscious, then gutted."

"Nice guy," said Tracy, "Same as the others?"

Natalie answered, "Yep, Knife inserted just above the collar
bone and dragged all the way down to the pelvis." She traced
the path along her own body.  "The knife was probably pretty
dull, not as clean a cut as the others. I'd say he was using
the same knife in all of them and hasn't sharpened it."

"Anything else?" asked Nick; he looked like he was going to
be ill.  Natalie gave him an apologetic look.  "Afraid so,"
Natalie looked back at Tracy, who was a model of clinical
detachment.  She was handling this better than Nick.  "The
knife didn't go through any bones, he just sliced all
muscles and skin... and it looks like he played around a bit
in her intestinal cavity after making the cut."

Tracy gave a small disgusted sound, "Gruesome.  Played
around?"

 Natalie explained how the killer had, after making the
incision most likely pressed his hands into the body cavity
and pushed them around.  It'd been a very grisly autopsy.
"It obviously wasn't done there, the body was dumped in the
alley later, she'd been dead maybe 14 hours or so when
found."  Natalie finished.

Tracy nodded. Natalie thought over Tracy's demeanour in
recent months, she never cracked jokes like Schanke had over
a body, but her cool professionalism soothed Natalie's
jangled nerves.  After going over a case with Tracy she
always felt it was in good hands.  Nick was a good cop, and
with his extra abilities he got cases solved.  But Natalie
had the feeling, that of the two, Tracy was becoming the
better Detective.  She squelched that traitorous thought and
turned to Nick.  "Any leads?"

"Not really, the victims seem to have nothing in common
outside sex and a general age group." Nick looked tired.
Some of the victims had still been in school, some had jobs,
a bank teller, a pre-school teacher, a construction worker,
nothing in common. Natalie knew deep down Nick was a
chivalrous man, a soldier... people just -don't- kill women
and children.  Even as a vampire he'd killed women, but not
tortured them.  He always had trouble with cases like this.
Nick continued talking, interrupting Natalie's thoughts.
"Rebecca Damson was last seen alive at the Raven, so I'll go
check that out, but I don't think it'll help much"

Tracy piped up; "I called Jacob, he going to do a psych.
profile on our guy for us, hopefully it'll give us something
more."  Nick looked startled, he hadn't thought to do that,
he usually didn't voluntarily get mixed up with other
departments, too many people to watch. Secrets got out that
way.  Hearing that Jacob Anderson, a very perceptive
criminal psychologist, was going to be working closely with
them was not a comforting thought.

"He'll be coming by later for the autopsy reports," Tracy
informed Natalie.  The coroner nodded.  Tracy said good-bye
to Natalie and turning towards Nick and said, "Let's go
check out the Raven." She seemed awfully determined, as she
headed towards the door.  Nick had been going to try and
persuade her to allow him to go by himself... but he didn't
even try to now.  He gave one last look at Natalie, gave her
a quick kiss on the mouth and promised to see her later.
When he left the building, Tracy was already seated in the
Caddy.

Tracy hadn't seen Lacroix since that night.  She'd feel like
a complete coward if she didn't go with Nick tonight.  It
was time for her to confront him... and whatever feelings she
had for him.  She didn't know what she felt as far as Lucien
Lacroix went.  She didn't think she was angry, she
definitely wasn't in love.  Maybe just intrigued?  Intrigued
and very confused.

Nick didn't know anything about that night.  He assumed his
master had erased the memory of Vachon's death from Tracy's
mind.  But he didn't know for sure, when he had asked
Lacroix about it he'd simply scowled at him and started
talking about responsibility and personal honour.

As they pulled into the lot beside the Raven Tracy
considered what she was going to do if confronted with her
2000-year-old ex-lover, and decided to follow his lead.  'He
probably won't even be there,' she thought, he owned the
club, but that didn't mean he was there every night.  It was
after midnight, his radio show was over... he probably left
already, 'doubtless he's out hunting,' was the thought that
flashed through her mind.  She started at it, she didn't
know if he actually -did- hunt, Vachon hadn't, she suspected
Nick didn't on principle... but Lacroix?  He didn't seem to be
the kind to only drink from a bottle.  Tracy listened
occasionally to the Nightcrawler's show, not often but once
in awhile, when she had the night off and was lonely.  He
filled some empty corner she barely recognised as existing
in herself. She felt strange, obsessing over the ancient
vampire.  Sometimes she thought her feelings were obscene,
tainted in some way.  She still turned it off when ever Nick
turned it on during work.  The last thing she needed was for
him to see her cry over something the old demon said to a
caller!

At the Raven nothing had seemed to change since the last
time Tracy had been there.  Black paint, chains hanging
artfully from the ceiling.  The crowd even seemed the same;
an undulating seemingly connected mass of people.  They all
blended together in a sea of pale flesh, black leather and
smears of blood red lipstick.  She almost expected to see
Vachon at the bar drinking, or Urs on the dance floor, but
of course they weren't there.  Lacroix, however, was, his
back was to them.  Nick spotted him at the same time Tracy
did, and tapped her shoulder, bringing her out of her
thoughts.  "There's the owner over there, you stay here,
I'll go talk to him." Nick told her and took of in his
direction.  Tracy followed anyway, she had her own reasons
for seeing the owner, and they had nothing to do with
Rebecca Damson.

Lacroix felt his son enter the club.  He smiled slightly,
Nicholas, while not a frequent visitor, still came around
occasionally.  He turned to meet him.  "Lacroix, I want to
ask you about a girl, she was in her two nights ago," He
held up a picture of Rebecca Damson for his master to see.
"Did you notice if anyone talked to her?  Maybe who she left
with?"

"Nicholas, police work?"  Lacroix asked with mock hurt.
"You wound me, why is it always business with you?  You
never come to visit you old friend."  His voice was
sarcastic, his smile more of a smirk, as he looked at Nick.
His smile faded as he noticed Tracy walk up beside his son.
"Detective Vetter," he said formally, nodding a greeting.

"Lacroix," Tracy followed his lead, giving him a nod of her
own.

 Nick didn't know what to think.  "You to know each other?"
He asked confused.  He'd rarely seen Lacroix act so polite
to a mortal, or to anyone else for that matter.  'What the
hell is going on!' he thought.

"We've... met, Nicholas," Lacroix said, rather haltingly, "You
know I always take an interest in your partners, you know I
quite liked Detective Schanke."  Lacroix said wistfully,
then quickly changed the subject.  "As for the girl," he
indicated the picture, "many people come through this
establishment, I can not be accountable for every one of
them. Now can I?" He asked harshly, a sardonic eyebrow
raising.  

Taking the hint Nick and Tracy left him to his
drink.  Nick cast him one more questioning look but was met
with only Lacroix's usual half smile, and went to question
the bartender.  Tracy stood there a moment longer, looking
at him, her face a mask of politeness.  Then she turned away
and went to talk to the wait staff that had been on duty
that night.  When Nick asked her later about Lacroix, she'd
told him that there was nothing to tell, they'd talked after
the headless body was found in his fridge and nothing more.

If Nick had doubted her he didn't show it.   He said nothing
more on the subject.

Seeing Tracy had ruined Lacroix's good mood.  He'd caught
himself thinking about her repeatedly in the prior months.
'Her blood tasted of apricots,' he remembered.  He sometimes
found himself outside her apartment in the early predawn
hours, watching her sleep restlessly.  He had felt bizarrely
proud when he'd learned of her successes in solving what
were considered 'hopeless' cases.  She was gaining a
reputation as a brilliant detective, one of the best in her
field.  He'd been troubled when he'd read of the incident
with sniper; he didn't like the idea of her being in any
danger.  He still wanted to be with her.  Yet he had kept
his distance nonetheless.  Truth be told he had no idea how
to approach her.  What relationship did he want with her?

What kind of relationship could an ancient vampire and a
twenty-something police detective have?  What was he
supposed to do? ...Ask her to dinner and a movie?  He
sneered.  He did not like it when he wasn't in control.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
 Send all comment and virtual offerings to anteros@juno.com

Tracy Grows Up
By: Cousin Mary
Part3


The next night Nick and Tracy were sitting in uncomfortable
folding chairs in a small back office in the same building
as the Morgue.  Jacob Anderson's office, was a living
example of how -not- to be organised.  Bookcases lined the
walls, yet they were only half filled with books, the tomes
they should have held sat in stacks on his desk and floor,
apparently abandoned to the nearest surface after they'd
given up their secrets.  Filing cabinets were open and files
sat in nearly toppling piles on their tops.  Crime scene
photos wall-papered the remaining wall space and one of the
two bare light-bulbs over head was burned out.  Regardless
of the mess, Jacob Anderson was the best criminal
psychologist in Toronto.

"Detectives Knight and Vetter, right?  Hold on a sec."  He
had told them to sit without really looking up; Nick was
beginning to become annoyed.  Jacob looked up from a
particularly thick file.  And started talking to Nick, "This
guy is a real sicko, what we're looking for-" Jacob stopped
suddenly... he'd just seen Tracy.  "Uh, I...er...where was I?" He
asked, completely flustered, he started to blush, and with
his complexion it was -really- noticeable. Tracy seemed
somewhat amused; it'd been a while since she'd gotten that
sort of a reaction.

Around thirty Jacob had bright red curls and freckles,
really very charming looking, with a quick grin and a
dimple.   Perhaps to counter his choir boy looks he dressed
rather oddly.  He wore big black army boots under ripped
jeans, his black T-shirt proclaimed his appreciation of a
local metal band, a leather jacket was draped over the chair
behind him.  He was fairly muscular too, his arms and chest
told of frequent trips to a gym.  Nick even thought he saw
the bottom half of a tattoo flash from under his sleeve.

Tracy thought he looked like Howdy Dudey after a few hard
years in Brooklyn

Nick was annoyed.  "The case?"  He asked tersely.  This guy
bugged him.   And not just because there was a good chance,
that if anyone could figure out his secret it was this man,
but that was reason enough.

"Right," Jacob snapped back into psychologist mode.  Running
quickly through a psych. profile he'd worked out.

"Basically, the guy is acting out some heavy duty
misogynistic fantasy on these girls.  We're looking for a
white male, probably mid-thirties... He hates women, is most
likely afraid of men."  He looked up from his file at the
pair in front of him; "He's kidnapping these girls as a way
to control them.  This is all about power for him, his over
theirs.  He's keeping locked away somewhere, torturing them,
starving, beating, raping... this is a real power-junkie we're
dealing with."

"And he kills them when they fight back?"  Tracy asked.

"No, not right away."  Nick answered, "He wants them to
fight for awhile, to exercise his control."

Jacob gave Nick an impressed look.  "That's right Detective,
I think he finally kills them when they give up, stop
fighting him."  He then gave them a run down on how he'd
figured this out.  Showing the autopsy reports and all the
forensic evidence, and how it related to the psych.
outlines.  "That about sums it up what we know so far."

Tracy sighed, "So, the women he picks?  They're just random,
anyone who peaks his interest?"  She sounded tired.

"Yeah, as far as we can tell.  He's a real connoisseur, all
of them are really pretty girls."  Jacob answered.  "Sorry,
I can't be of more help."

"No, It helps... it's a lot more than we had." Tracy smiled at
him.  Nick thought Jacob was going to hurt himself he
blushed so brightly.  Nick thanked him and walked out,
saying something about seeing Natalie.

>>>>>>>>>>>>.

A few minutes later Tracy joined him in the coroner's
office. Nick and Nat had been talking about how they were
going to spend their upcoming vacations.  He was trying to
convince her to spend it with him, in Paris.  When Tracy
came in they both looked sort of guilty.  Tracy, however,
looked dazed.  "What is it Trace?" asked Nick.

"Huh? Oh, Jacob asked me out... I wasn't expecting it."  Tracy
looked very uncomfortable.

"Oooo, I've always liked Jacob," Nat smiled brightly. She
didn't notice Nick's frown. "Kind of Top Gun meets Richie
Cunningham.  You two would make a cute couple!  Where are
you kids going?"

"I... I didn't say yes." Tracy said uneasily.  She looked at
them guiltily.

'Vachon.' Nick and Nat thought in unison, she wasn't over
the guy yet.

If only that were true Tracy might have felt better.  But as
it was, it wasn't Vachon's face that had flashed through her
mind when she'd refused Jacob.  It'd been Lacroix's.  She'd
turned down a great guy like Jacob Anderson, for an ancient
vampire she'd seen for three minutes in six months!  'God,
what is my problem?'  She'd slept with another man, the same
night she'd buried Vachon, but she was staying faithful to a
relationship that didn't even exist?  She looked down at her
watch.  "Shifts almost up.  I'm going home, okay?  See you
guys tomorrow."  Nick and Natalie watched her leave, frowns
on both of their faces.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Send all comment and virtual offerings to anteros@juno.com


The following scene was my wonderful beta-reader Renee
Miller's idea so if you like it, praise her.  If you don't,
well I wrote it so blame me. <g>

Tracy Grows Up
By: Cousin Mary
Part4


Twice when Tracy woke in the pre-dawn hours she thought she
glimpsed Lacroix outside her third-story window.  Once she
thought he looked like he wanted to come in, she dismissed
it as part of a nightmare.  Tracy spent the night tossing
and turning.  Her dreams were full of vampires, death,
blood... and sex.  She relived every attack, every killing
she'd witnessed from any vampire.  And worse yet she saw her
night with Lacroix replayed over and over whenever she
closed her eyes.

She lay there as the sun crept over the horizon.  It's pink
light shone in through her window and illuminated her
bedroom.  It was a muddle of dirty clothes, magazines and
assorted debris.  'Funny how my apartment always seems to
mirror my life.' Tracy thought with a self-deprecating
smile.  Realising that no sleep was going to be had any time
soon, she got up and began to clean.  By the time the sun
had climbed to a respectable height, she put a dent into the
clutter. And she'd decided to take control of her life
again.  She wasn't going to let her obsession with Lacroix
interfere with her life anymore.  At noon she called Jacob
and asked him out to dinner.

They went out that night.  Technically they both had it off,
but Tracy knew she'd probably be back at the precinct long
before dawn working on the case anyway.  She always ended up
there on her nights off.  Tracy was determined to have a
nice normal date.  She forced herself to smile and flirt
with her dinner companion.  He took her to the Azure, one of
the nicest restaurants in Toronto.  It was strange to see
Jacob in a suit.

Jacob watched across the table as Tracy tried to make small
talk.  He knew she didn't really want to be there, he
wondered why she was trying so hard to have a good time.  He
was a psychologist, he tried not to analyse her but it was
hard to deny his training.  He's seen her around the
precinct before, when she'd first started.  She'd been so
young and vibrant.  The first time he'd seen her she'd been
wearing a cheerful pink suit and had been so eager to please
everyone.  He hadn't been interested in her at all then.
But now, he watched slowly sipping her wine, it was as if
she were a totally different person.

Her hair was artfully twisted up, and a black-pearl choker
encircled her slim neck. She was wearing a very tight dark
rose-coloured silk dress.  Jacob commented, "That is a
lovely colour on you."

Tracy smirked at him.  "This old thing?   It's always
reminded me of the colour of an infected wound." She joked.
Tracy briefly wondered where she'd picked up such a twisted
sense of humour.

He was shocked at first, then burst out laughing. Jacob
gazed at her.  She was so... sophisticated?  Was that the word
he wanted?  Poised, confident, what was it?  She was talking
about the mayor now; she made some cynical little joke.  A
small sardonic smile lifted one side of her pink mouth.
Jacob stared at her mouth, God he wanted her.

They finished their meal and went out to his car.  He held
the door for her as she slipped into the low-riding sports
car.  Jacob slipped behind the wheel.  Dinner had been
pleasant.  The conversation had been witty and intelligent.
He'd had a wonderful time so far, or he would've if he
didn't know Tracy was miserable.  He was driving her home,
he'd asked her if she wanted to go out for a few drinks but
she'd politely refused.  She sat in the passenger seat still
and quiet.  He leaned over and flipped on the radio, his
favourite show was on.

Tracy felt wretched.  All through dinner she'd compared
Jacob to Lacroix.  And in every way he'd come up lacking.
'At least he has a pulse.' She thought wryly.  'Dammit,
what's wrong with me? Jacob is a great guy!'  Her feelings
for Lacroix were a depraved fantasy.  There was nothing
between them except one night they both regretted.  He had
never tried to see or contact her after that night. He
didn't care.  'You haven't exactly gone to him either.' A
small mocking voice reminded her.  Then suddenly Lacroix's
voice filled the car.  Tracy jumped.

"I just love this guy," Jacob grinned at her, he'd been
watching the road and hadn't noticed her reaction. They
listened as the Nightcrawler lectured about 'denying your
true self.'  Jacob's grin grew. "He's a psychologist's
dream!"

Tracy tried to think of something clever to say, but her
mind was blank.  It took all of her control not to slap off
the radio and bawl.

Jacob turned to her; and then noticed how uneasy his date
suddenly seemed.  "Is something wrong?"  He asked, concerned
written all over his adorable visage.

"Nothing, he's an old boyfriend that's all," Tracy said
quietly.  'Now why the hell did I say that!'  She silently
screamed at herself, but she knew, it was the fasted way to
get him to turn it off.

Jacob's bright red eyebrows shot up.  "Oh, You can change it
then."  He said quickly.  Now this explained a few things.
Obviously she still had some serious feelings for this guy,
but really wished she didn't.  The psychologist in him again
made himself known. "You want to talk about it?"  He asked.

"No," Tracy said curtly.  She leaned forward and changed the
station.  Jacob got a great view down her top.  She turned
it to a pounding violent metal song; she turned up the
volume.  The angry throbbing music was strangely
comforting.  It bothered her that she was so effected by
Lacroix still.

The pulsating music made further conversation impossible.
When they arrived at her building Jacob switched off the
radio with a loud click.  "Tracy-" He began, sharply.

She didn't give him a chance to continue.  She leaned across
and crushed her mouth against his.  Desperately trying to
prove to herself she could have a normal relationship with a
man.

At first Jacob was to stunned to do anything. Then he
returned her kiss, using up some of his own pent-up
frustration in the process.  He knew it was wrong, she
wasn't kissing him.  She was fighting her own personal
demons.

Then just as suddenly Tracy pulled away.  "I'm sorry," She
looked miserable.  "This was... God I'm sorry Jacob."  She
looked at him, her big blue eyes pleading him to understand.

Jacob wasn't angry.  He knew enough about people to know no
matter how much he wanted her, Tracy wasn't going to be
his.  He sighed. "It's this Nightcrawler guy?"  He asked,
but he already knew it was, he'd seen her reaction.

"It's not just him, it's me." Tracy explained.

Jacob nodded.  "It's okay."  He ran his fingers through his
hair, then stared into her eyes.  "If you ever want to talk...
or anything, I'll be here."  He told her.

Tracy smiled at him. She felt so bad for putting Jacob
through this farce. "Thanks" She got out of the car, and
leaned back in to say something else.  Jacob ruefully
enjoyed the view.  "You won't say anything?  About..." She
flicked her eyes toward the now silent radio. "Especially to
my partner?"

Jacob frowned at that, but agreed.  "Good Night Tracy."

"Night Jacob" Tracy said sadly.  As she watched him drive
away she cursed herself.  Was it impossible for her to have
a normal -human- relationship?  Did she just -like-
torturing herself or something?  Why was she doing this to
herself?

"Why?"  She asked the inky black night.  When no one
answered she went inside.  She couldn't sleep that night
either.  She ended up back at her desk by one in the
morning.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Send all comment and virtual offerings to anteros@juno.com



Tracy Grows Up
By: Cousin Mary
Part5

A week later two more bodies had been found, three more
girls were missing. "Dammit!" Tracy slammed her fist into
the desk, her double cappuccino sloshed over on an arrest
report. "God where is that napkin I had it..." she trailed
off.

 Nick started.  "Something wrong Trace?"   He was worried
about his partner, she was getting -way- to involved in this
case. Plus every time they went to see Jacob Anderson she
was very formal with the usually friendly psychologist. Nick
wondered if it was because she'd turned him down; she always
seemed strangely guilty whenever he was around. She was
obsessing over this case.  She'd spent hours pouring over
every bit of evidence, chasing down every lead, going over
all the psych. reports.  She had dark circles under her eyes
and she was drinking way too much coffee.

"Yeah." She said distractedly.  She felt like screaming out
her frustration. "It's just this case, I have the feeling
that I missing... something.  Something I should see,
something right in front of my face."

"Maybe you're just to close to see it."  Nick said, reaching
over the desk he patted her had in a comforting manner.
Tracy gave him a strange little smirk, for some reason he
was reminded of Lacriox.

"Well, I -have- done that before."  She said and before he
could begin to process that; she stood up, "I'm going for a
drive, check some stuff out, clear my head."  Nick told her
that was a good idea, and watched her put on her coat and
leave.

Nick gave a disgusted look down at the reports in front of
him.  He had a -lot- of work to do.  He sighed, and decided
to take them home and work on them there.  He was hungry...
and not for donuts.  'And people would probably object if I
tried to dunk a meter-maid in a cup of coffee.' He chuckled
at the thought, not that he'd ever do such a thing, it was
just a little vampire humour.  He gathered up the files and
drove home.

When Nick arrived at his loft he found Lacroix sitting on
his couch.  While he was surprised he was not upset.  He
hadn't seen Lacroix since that night at the Raven a week
ago.  He'd been preoccupied with the case and hadn't been by
since then, but he was here now and he wanted to know what
why he'd reacted to Tracy like that!  "Lacroix, what are you
doing here?"

"It never -is- 'hello' with you is it?"  His master said
sarcastically.  "Can't a man come and see his favourite son,
occasionally?"

Nick felt a little guilty then, but not enough to
apologise.  "Hello, Lacroix... what do you want?"  He conceded
that much, but there was a touch of humour in his voice.

When he wasn't interfering with his life or they weren't at
each other's throats he didn't mind seeing his master now
and again.  "What happened between you and my partner... I
couldn't get one word out of her."

"That's really none of your business Nicholas" Lacroix
sounded fairly angry.

"She's -my- partner!  Of course it's my business!"  Nick
could be defensive too.

"Not everything in this world revolves around you!"  Lacroix
was nearly livid now.

"But this does," Nick taunted, still having no clue to what
was going on, but conscious of the fact that if Lacroix was
-this- upset it was something he'd best find out about.
They stood there a moment glaring at each other.

Then Nick's cell phone rang.  He continued to glower at his
master as he flipped it open.  "Knight."

"Yeah, Nick, this is Tracy, I think I found our guy, on
Mattock and 12th, an abandoned textile factory, call for
back up but tell them to stay back.  I don't want the
hostages hurt."  Nick tried to answer but she kept talking.
"I'm going in, the west entrance has only a puny pad lock,
I'm gonna sneak in and try to disarm him.  Wish me luck
partner."  And the phone went dead.

"Dammit!" Nick yelled, slamming the phone closed.  Just when
he'd thought his partner had developed some common sense... He
looked back at Lacroix, who'd of course heard every thing;
"I gotta go."

He started to leave, when he heard Lacroix say, "I'm going
with you."

"This is police business Lacroix!  It's none of your
concern."  Nick said curtly.

"My dear Nicholas, how do you propose to stop me?"  He
asked. He'd been following this case through the papers,
especially after he'd learned his Nicholas and Tracy were
handling it.  He knew Tracy was in great danger, and he
-was- going, no matter what his son wished.

Nick had no real answer for that; there was no real way he
could stop him.  So after he called for back-up to meet at
the factory per Tracy's instructions, Nick and Lacroix both
jumped into the air.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Send all comment and virtual offerings to anteros@juno.com


Tracy Grows Up
By: Cousin Mary
Part6


Tracy had just left the precinct when it had hit her.  The
key wasn't in the girls being taken.  It was the locations
the girls were being taken from; the killer was following
some stupid pattern of numbers and letters from the street
names!  Once she'd figured out the pointless formula she'd
simple followed it straight to the factory.  When she saw
the lone man, enter the abandoned building with enough
groceries to feed an army, her suspicions were confirmed.

After calling Nick for back-up she approached the west
entrance.  There was a small grated opening presumably to
vent air into the basement near the door.  When she looked
down it she the huddled outlines of over a dozen girls.
Ragged and dirty, some were huddled together, others ties to
chairs or even chained to walls.  Tracy got even angrier;
she was going to nail that degenerate freak!

She paused a second before approaching the door. Tracy
pulled the silver cross out of her shirt and kissed it,
'hey, it has kept me safe so far,' she thought wryly as she
replaced the memento.  The lock fell apart in her hands; she
didn't even need to pick it.  She entered the dark
building.  A light burned at the other end of the nearly
empty factory floor. High above dirty windows allowed the
half moon to shine eerily through. Large hulking machines
cowered in the moonlight, bolted down to the concrete
floors.  Tracy pulled out her gun and approached the lighted
area.

As she approached she could hear a girl whimpering.  Tracy
crouched behind one of the large monstrous machines and
peered out at the scene before her.  A tall muscular man
bent over the crying girl, laughing at her.  Then he kicked
her in the ribs, and pulled her up cruelly by her hair.  "So
little girl, did you miss me?"  He asked in a mocking
hate-filled voice.  The girl just continued to cry, almost
silently.  The man laughed and while with one hand he
continued to grasp her hair, the other roughly groped her
breasts.  And then he kissed her temple, grinding his mouth
against her when she began to whimper again.

Tracy had seen enough; she stepped out, and gun in hand
shouted, "Freeze! Metro Police!"  Just then Nick and Lacroix
rushed into the factory and landed a few meters behind
Tracy.

The man swung around, and suddenly he had a knife pressed to
the girl's throat.  "Don't come any closer!  I swear I'll
kill her!"  He yelled, he looked panicked, his eyes shone
brightly under the fluorescent lighting.

Nick stepped forward; "We're not going to hurt you.  Just
let the girl go."  He said in a calming voice.  The man
didn't move.  "What's your name?  What should we call you?"
Nick asked, inching forward.

"Steve, my names Steve." John's voice was taking on an
unbalanced quality.  "Don't come any closer!  I know what
you're trying to do!"

Nick stopped in his tracks.  "Let the girl go Steve.  Let
the girl go."  He tried another tactic, hypnotism.  It
didn't work; he was just too unstable. Steve pressed the
knife harder against the girl's throat, a trickle of blood
dripped down her neck.

"No!" Steve yelled, "They're mine!  They're all mine!  You
can't have them!  You can't take them away from me this
time!"  He was screaming now, his voice frantic.  "Drop your
guns, now!"

Nick gently pulled out his gun and placed it on the floor,
"Okay, don't panic now."  But Steve was -not- listening to
his advice.  Nick's hostage negotiation's voice wasn't
working.  The man was just too deranged.

Tracy tried another approach.  Her gun dropped to the floor
with a clatter.  Steve swung around and looked at her.

Tracy began to take off her jacket then "He's afraid of men,
but -hates- women, remember?"  She whispered to Nick as she
handed him the jacket.  Taking a deep breath Tracy turned to
Steve and took a step towards him.

Tracy smiled at Steve, a mocking sardonic smile.  "Hello,
Steve."  She said his name as if it were a taunt.  He turned
hate-filled eyes to her.  "Your just the pathetic little man
who likes to beat up little girls aren't you."  She said in
a singsong manner.

She came closer, swaying her hips as she walked towards
him.  He noticed; he licked his lips and ogled her.  She had
on a sleeveless silk ivory shell on, over her mauve silk
trousers.  And heels, which she stopped to kick off.  He
watched her slow approach; sweat began to form on his
forehead.  The two vampires watched, helpless, as she neared
the killer.

"Why waste your time with a little girl like her when you
can have someone like me?"  She asked in a seductive yet
mocking voice.  He wiped his forehead and shifted
uncomfortably.  She was getting to him, and Tracy knew it.

Nick and Lacroix watched silently from a distance, powerless
to do anything.  Tracy was right, this guy was afraid of
men, if they approached him at all, he'd slit the girl's
throat.

Tracy decided to press her advantage, she had Steve's total
attention.  "You don't mean -anything- to her," she said in
a stage whisper, as if she were confiding a great secret.

"But you do to me."  She said in a husky voice.

"I... I do?" Steve asked, in a strangely hopeful voice.

"Yes," Tracy confided, "You see -I- hate you."  She was
directly in front of him now, less than ten feet away.

There was a pause. "You should feel honoured, I don't think
I've ever really -hated- anyone before."

Steve looked angry, but it was all directed at Tracy now,
he'd almost forgotten about the girl he was holding.  "You
whore!" He spat.

Tracy grinned at him.  "Aren't you going to come and get
me?"  She taunted, Steve looked about to do just that.
Another pause.  "...Aren't you man enough?"

That did it!  Steve threw away the girl; she crumbled to the
ground in a shivering heap several feet away, and lunged at
Tracy.  Tracy crouched into her fighting pose and waited for
him.  When was almost on her, she neatly side-stepped him.
He skidded to a stop and swung wildly back at her, slashing
madly with the knife.

Tracy avoided every slash of the blade, and spun into a low
crouch.  She put her weight on her right leg and brought her
left around in a sweep to make contact with the side of his
face.  As he tumbled sideways, she sprung back up.  Steve
started to get up again, he was taller than Tracy and in
very good physical shape, plus he still had the knife.
She'd have to be ruthless if she wanted to survive this.
She grabbed his right arm, and jerked it downward, with both
of her hands.  She brought up her knee and placed it on the
back of his elbow. Nick and Lacroix watched on in disbelief
as Tracy then forced Steve's elbow to bend the wrong way,
there was a crunching popping sound.  Steve screamed in
agony, and Tracy grabbed the knife.

She then punched Steve hard in the mouth and he went down.
Facing away from her on his hands and knees in front of her
shrieking, it was a pathetic sight.  Tracy remembered all
those bodies in the morgue, all those parents and boyfriend
and sisters she'd had to talk to, she remembered all of the
girls still locked in the basement, and she couldn't bring
herself to pity him at all.  "Nick, wanna bring the
handcuffs?"  She called out wearily.  Nick snapped to
attention, his hand went to his belt to get the cuffs.

Just then Steve spun jumped up, he had a switchblade in his
left hand, his right swinging useless at his side.  His eyes
were wild with pain and hate.  He lunged at her.  She didn't
really have any choice; instinct took over.  She grabbed the
arm with the blade at the wrist with her left arm.  She
pulled him forward and then past her, she used his momentum
to spin him around.  His back was towards her; he started to
turn and stab at her with the blade.  But Tracy was quicker;
she dragged the knife she still held across his throat.  His
blood poured over her hands and he crumbled at her feet.

All was silent for a moment.  Tracy looked down at Steve's
body, for a minute that was all she was aware of.  Then
other things started to register.  She noticed the
fluorescent lights above were flickering, she heard the girl
in the corner crying softly. She could her the wind whistle
through a broken windowpane high above. She could see out of
the corner of her eye Nick and Lacroix staring at her.

"Nick."  She finally called out.

"I'm here Tracy." Nick began to approach his partner, intent
on taking her in his arms and soothing her.  He hadn't been
able to help, it had happened so quickly, by the time it had
registered what was happening she'd had him on his knees,
and then the last part... that had been over in just an
instant.

"No, not me," Tracy said, noting his plan.  "Her." She said,
indicating the shaking girl on the floor.  

"Right," mumbled Nick, deciding his partner wanted to be alone now, he
switched directions and headed for the girl.

Tracy turned around and walked to a near by concrete support
beam.  She stretched her arms up slightly and placed her
hands against the pillar.  She leaned forward and rested her
forehead against the cool stone. She left bloody streaks
dragging her hands down to be parallel to her head.  Lacroix
walked up beside her.  Tracy sighed.

"That was quite a feat my dear."  He said, he sounded,
amused and proud. "I was quite impressed."  He chuckled.

"That's what I live for."  Tracy said sarcastically, her
forehead still pressed against the beam.  She didn't even
look at him.

"Are you going to go let all the girls out now?"  He asked,
his tone saying that he already knew she was. He too had
noticed the grated window when he'd entered; he knew what
was in the basement.

"No," She answered tiredly. "Let the back-up handle it." As
she saw it, trained medical personnel and trauma workers
would be better choices to go down there, they were in no
immediate danger. Lacroix's eye brows shot up in surprise.

Tracy sighed again, and mumbled under her breath, "the last
thing they need is a blood soaked killer and her two vampire
side-kicks barging down there."

He stared at her in disbelief. The fact that she saw herself
as a killer amazed him. She had also figured out what
Nicholas was.  He wondered how long she'd known.  He put his
hand on her shoulder and spun her around. "It is a very
dangerous game you play my dear."  Lacroix hissed at her.

Her back against the pillar, Tracy crossed her arms in front
of her and glared at him.  "And that wasn't?" she asked
sarcastically, indicating with a flick of her eyes the area
she'd fought Steve.  "And -this- isn't" This time indicating
Lacroix and herself, and whatever it was between them.
Lacroix didn't know what to say to that.

Suddenly Tracy looked tired.  She raised one hand to rub her
eyes with, when she noticed it was still stained with
blood.  Her hand dropped to her side, she gave a small
whimper then, and started shaking.  She'd never killed
someone like that before, sure she'd shot perps in the line
of duty before... but this had been different.  She hadn't
been in control; she hadn't had the cool, reassuring feel of
a gun in her hand.  It had been her instincts taking over.
All the self-defense training she'd ever had had surged
forward and taken over. All thought had stopped; she hadn't
liked it at all.

Lacroix looked at the shaking woman in front of him and
something snapped.  Since that night six months ago he'd
always thought of her with admiration, but with a cool
detachment too.  She had rejected him the next day, and he'd
tried to do the same to her. But now all that disappeared,
it was that night again, and she was his.  He pulled her
into his arms then and stroked her hair, whispering soothing
little nonsense to her.

Nick looked up from the girl he was comforting to see if his
partner was all right.  That had been a pretty intense scene
and he didn't know how she'd handle it.  Back up should be
there in a few minutes and then they could put all of this
behind them.  He looked around the cavernous factory and
then saw her... and Lacroix.  He froze.  His master was
holding Tracy, rocking her gently as she sobbed into his
shoulder.  He watched in stunned amazement as Lacroix leaned
down and kissed her hair.  Just then the girl Nick was
comforting began to whimper again, so he had to turn his
attention away from the other two... for now.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Send all comment and virtual offerings to anteros@juno.com


Tracy Grows Up
By: Cousin Mary
Part7

Later that night Tracy stood beside her partner out side the
factory.  A blanket was wrapped around her shoulders and a
hot cup of coffee was clutched in her cool hands.  They
stood there and watched well-trained men and women lead the
girls and women out of the building.  Some had been there
for months, chained to the walls and couldn't walk on their
own; they had to be carried out on stretchers.

Captain Reese had come over and told her she'd have to talk
to IA in a few days but that he didn't think there'd be a
problem.  "You did good Tracy, go home and get some rest,
you deserve it."  He'd told her.  She managed to smile at
him.

Nick and Tracy were alone now, standing in silence as
uniformed officers combed through the area.  When everyone
was out of earshot he turned to his partner.  "What happened
Tracy?"  He asked, his voice full of concern.

"I told you, it was all based on the numbers and letters
of-" Tracy began tiredly, but was cut off by Nick.

"I know that!" He hissed angrily.  "You know that wasn't
what I was talking about.  Tell me what's going on.  And
don't you dare tell me it's none of my business like he
did!"

Tracy stared at him in amazement.  "He's your maker isn't
he?"  She asked, rhetorically really, since the final pieces
were falling into place without his answer.

"You knew?"  Asked Nick in a hurt voice.  He hadn't known
she'd learned about his secret, the fact that she hadn't
revealed herself pained him.  The fact that she now knew
Lacroix was his master wasn't comforting either.

Tracy felt a flash of anger.  It had been Nick who'd lied to
her for all those months first, how dare he act hurt now!
But the hostility quickly drained out of her.  "Yeah, I've
known for a couple of months."  She paused.  "As for Lacroix
and me ... I just don't know what's going on there."  She gave
a small self-deprecating smile, "I think I might be in love
with him though."

Nick was stunned.  He'd had no idea!  He just stared at her
a moment.  Then Nat walked up to them both; she'd just
finished examining Steve's body. "Tracy your hero of the day
for breaking this one."  She said as a way of greeting.

"So, what's going on you two?"  Nat asked with a wide smile.
When neither of them answered she her smile left her, she
began to worry.  "What is it? ...Nick? ...Tracy?"

Nick snapped out of it, still staring at Tracy he said,
"Tracy's in love with Lacroix."

"What!?!"  Natalie yelped, drawing the attention of several
uniformed officers.

"Come on, we can't talk about this here."  Nick said
matter-of-factly, "Let's go to my place."  Since Nick hadn't
brought his car, and Tracy was in no shape to drive them
all, Nat drove.  No one said anything the entire drive.

When they got there Tracy sat in chair while Nick and Nat
sat close together on the couch and cross-examined her.
They told her to explain everything.  She briefly thought
about refusing to say anything, but in the end decided just
to lay all of her cards on the table.  'It's time for
someone to be honest around here.'  She thought.

And with that she started talking.  She told them about how
confused she'd been about Vachon and how angry she'd been
that Nick hadn't confided in her.  Neither of them
interrupted her as she choked out all of her feelings of
betrayal and hurt, though both looked guilty. Tracy told
them everything. How her relationship with her father had
changed, how she'd lost track of all her old friends. She
went on to explain how she'd thrown herself into her work.

When she started talking about Lacroix both Nick and Natalie
gasped.  When she told them she'd slept with him, Natalie
covered her mouth to stifle a cry.  She told them how she
hadn't seen Lacroix after that night, until going with Nick
to the Raven last week.  She talked about her frustration
over this last case. And the horror she'd felt and realising
just how ruthless she could be after killing Steve.  She
finished by telling them about how she'd listened to the
Nightcrawler's show and had thought about going to him
nearly every night.  When she'd finished her extensive
narrative she looked up at the two on the couch.

Nick and Nat just gaped at her.  They'd had no idea what
kind of hell Tracy had been going through since Vachon's
death.  And she'd suffered it all silently.  She'd had no
one to confide in.  They realised they hadn't known Tracy at
all.  What was there to say?  Should they apologise for not
telling her about Nick?  Or for not realising who Tracy
Vetter really was?

Then Lacroix stepped out of the shadows; he'd listened to
the entire thing.  Tracy gasped, and opened her mouth to say
something.  But Lacroix shook his head for her to be quite
and held his arms open for her.  Tracy rose slowly, then
rushed to him.  He folded her into his arms and held her for
a moment.  He then leaned down and kissed her mouth gently.
With a farewell nod to the pair on the couch Lacroix took
Tracy and flew out of the room.

Nick and Natalie were silent, they stared first at the
skylight the two had left from.  Then looked at each other.
But neither said a word, each was lost in their own
thoughts.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Okay, I'm ending it here.  What do you think?  I'm not sure,
it's not as neat and tidy as "Tracy Meets Lacroix"  but...I
don't know, does it work?
Send all comment and virtual offerings to anteros@juno.com