Date:         Mon, 29 Apr 1996 21:25:22 -0500
From: "Charles S. Randolph" <randolph@TENET.EDU>
Subject:      Anything is Possible (1/4)

**Well, here I am again...must be a contagious disease or something.  I
have actually bee working on this story off and on for 3 months...not
that my grammer or spelling will be much better than it ever was.   I
don't have net capabilities yet at my other house, so iffin you want to
send me a line here's my address...yes, I moved again.

Anything is Possible
Part 1 of 4

Nick and Tracy did a 360 degree turn in the middle of Bay Street back
tracking toward Jackson and the sight of their newest murder mystery.
Nick tried to garner some enthuisam as he stomped on the accelerator, but
his heart simply wasn't in it.  Natalie had been out sick for several
days and although he called practically every hour on the hour, she never
answered.  They had had "that " fight again just before she left and he
knew shat she was licking wounds and did not want to talk to him.  He had
considered simply walking into her apartment, but having dealt with her
wrath for that particular breech of ettiquete before, he declined.  She
would return soon and he would smooth things over like he always did.
Their friendship would continue, and somehow, this time, that did not
comfort him.
 He sighed and his partner gave him a long look before turning back to
the window she was staring out of.  Nick wished silently for Nat's voice,
having only the woman at his side, her newest chum Vachon and LaCroix to
talk to was cumbersome at best.  Besides, since Screed's death, Vachon
was not much company anyway.
 Nick's mind was heavily focused on all of his burdens, trying not to
weigh himself down in pity when his partners scream echoed through the
car, "LOOK OUT NICK!!!"
 Nick slammed on the brakes only a moment too late.  He heard a loud
sickening thump and came to a grinding halt, bolting out of his car to
peer down at the body that lay writing in the hazy shadow of his headlights.
 It took him a moment to realize what had happened, as he blinked,
uncomprehending at the form below him.  There was a loud groan, the sound
of a bone snappin and it finally jolted Nick out fo shock.
 "Tracy, call an ambulance, NOW!."
 He knealy dow, trying to look the young woman over and access how badly
she had been injured.  She had curled her body into a fetal position,
straining against the pain, utterly and completley still as if trying to
draw strenght for somewhere.  Her arm was bent back at an ackward angle
and a small cut in her forehead oozed a stream of blood down her face.
 There was a deep breath and Nick almost gagged as she rolled onto her
back, snapping the bone once again, and finally laying the arm across her
chest.  Her breating was slow and erradic, but glazed blue eyes opened to
look into his own.  She was alive.  Her clothes were torn and wethered.
A black t-shirt clung to hips that were waif thin, she seemed so small,
so vunerable, and Nick paused to wonder where she got the strength to
deal with such overwhelming pain.
 He shook his head, silently,  as he heard the ambulance getting closer.
Hed he not been so caught up in his own problems, this would never have
happened.
 Guilt  coursed through him even as th medics assured him she would be
fine and whisked her away in an ambulance.
 He wanted to go as well and watched it go until it was completely out of
sight. He, unfortunately, had other things to tend to.  He handed Tracy
the keys to his car with a shaky hand and for once, Miss "I'm a Good
Cop", had sense enough not to ask.
 This sight of an older man acting as Chief Medical Examiner caught Nick
off guard.  Why was it that the only person capable of giving you any
kind of solace at all was never there when you actually needee them, and
WHY was this bothering him so much? He had not realized how much he had
cme to depend on her soft laughter and musical voice to cheer up scenes
like this one. This time, she was not there, and it grated on his nerves,
making him act moody, touchy and undoubetly in a most human manner
(although the latter never occured to him...what a shock).
 A male voice broke into his pathetic world, "Det. Knight, Det. Vetter,
I'm surprised to see you here."
 The lumbering man standing over them was the acting ME.  He was known
only as "Gash" and Nick decided he did not even want to begin to guess
where that name had come from.
 Tracy looked over at the crumpled heap of flesh and the building it must
have come from and raised one eyebrow, "Suicide?"
 "Pretty open and shut," Gash said.
 "Looks can be deceiving, Gash, "Nick's voice was unnessairly harsh, and
what was more he knew it and couldn't make it stop, "Keep us posted."
 The lumbering mountain of a man looked like a comical version of a
whipped puppy, "Sure, whatever you say detective."
 Nick opened his mouth to put his foot in it again when his partner
physically dragged him away from the scene..
 "Sheesh!  What the Hell is eating you?"
 "I don't have a clue what you're talking about," he snapped back.
 "Yeah, you do...look ever since Natalie got sick you've been a real pain
in the ass, so stop taking it out on me, or Gash or the entire damn
precinct.  She's not dead, she has the flu, get over it."
 Nick rand a hand through his rumpeled blond hair and sighed.  She was
right...he apused...oh my GOD, SHE IS RIGHT.  Maybe I need a new line of
work.
 "Sorry, Trace, stress, can we go over to the hospital?"
 "Yeah sure, want me to drive."
 Nick only nodded.
 The young woman was awake and smiling when they walked into her room.
Nick almost melted into a pulled with relief and tracy, who obvioulsy had
more parctice at being cordial, approached her, "Hi, I'm Tracy, How are
you feeling?"
 "Top of the world."  A soft, lilting English accent clung to the edges
of her voice and it brought Nick back to the moment at hand.
 She laughed, it like velvet, soft and gentle, "I suppose I have you to
thank for getting me stuck in the overly sterile environment?"
 Nick flushed, 'I...I'm sorry, I didn't see you."
 Her eyes flashed with humor, "No worries, I'm fine, no harm done."
 She held out a small, pale, delicate hand, "Raiel Jackobson." Nick
engulfed it with his own, 'Nick Knight."
 He finally managd to get around to noticing her.  She looked perhaps 24,
glitterig blue-eyes looked up at him from a small, thin body and pale
face surrounded by long amber colored hair.  She was striking. Her
complexion was pale and pasty, probably dure to trauma, but the cut had
been diligently bandaged, her arm was keep carefully out of sight under
the covers.
 "SO...when do you get out of here?"
 "Soon, they want to run some tests on my legs."
 The entire world stopped in that moment and Nick tried to steel himself
against the answer he knew was coming, "Why?"
 "No feeling or something...don't worry about it."
 "What do you mean no feeling?  You're paralyzed."
 Raiel's voice rose a notch, "It's nothing, forget it, please."
 Tracy realized that she was politely asking them to leave and bodily
pulled Nick away from someone for the second time that day.
 He stood outside the door fuming, "I crippeled that gilr, Tracy."
 "Perhaps, but she obviously doesn't want your help, so let's go."
 He looked wantoningly at the door to her room and then followed his
partner out of the hospital.
 He did manag to make it hope without hitting anyone else and yet sleep
would not come.  His mind drifted consistantly back to that young woman
in the hospital.  He had crippeled her, taking away her mobility...but he
could give it back to her, couldn't he.
  Nick paused, he wasn't actually considering bringing her across...was he?
  He struggled with his conscience and continued to come bac to the smae
conclusion, he would offer it to her, nothing more.
 Which is how he managed t find himslef with a kidnapped woman lying
peacefully on his sofa.
 Raiel stirred and the unfamiliar surroundings forced her awake, "What
the HE...."
 Nick's voice came from behind her, "I didn't know where else to take you."
She turned to look at him and was rewarded with the glowing golden eyes
of a vampire.  He had chosen no pretenses, either she would want this or
she would not, and he was not going to begin second guessing himself now.
 "I can give you back your mobility, if that is what you want."
 Raile was spellbound, caught in the hypnotic beauty of the eyes.  She
didn't speak, but the rush of her blood and the quickining pace of her
heartbeat spoke volumes to the vampire inside Nick.  He approached her,
turning her head to one side.  He could feel the warmth of that blood,
the rhymetic beating of her heart and for one moment, they were one.  His
teeth brushed acrossher neck until her voice rang over the loft, "NO,
WAIT...STOP!!!!"
 Her eyes turned to look at him, their blueness replaces by an eerie
white the color of a firestorm.
 Nick loked confused (what else is new), "Why what's wrong?"
 The fire in her eyes faded to once again reveal the twinkling blue.  She
began to laugh, and as she did, they became noticable for the first
time.  Two sets of sharpened insisors, set back in her mouth.  One would
never notice them if you didn't look, but now, as she smiled, they were
obvious, "Been there, done that...have the tattoo."
 Nick was taken aback, literally, and stood in utter brickish
confusion,"But how can that be..you're...you're..."
 "Paralyzed?"
 He nodded
 "Yes well, its not the end of life as we know it, but seriously, I've
been this way all my life."
 "Apparently...I'm not understanding.  Shouldn't the paralysis have been
lifted when you were brought across?"
 "Brought a what?  Oh, hang on.  You've got something wrong.  I'm not a
full vampire.  My....my mother, Amelia, she was a mortal."
***************************************************************************

Julie Randolph


"Just remember that he with the most prizes, still dies."--LaCroix,
Trophy Girl


**I don't have anything worldly or creative to say...oh well.**

Anything is Possible
Part 2 of 4
Julie Randolph


 "MORTAL??!!!??  I didn't know that was possible."
 Raiel smiled,"Well, here I am."
 He stared at her for a moment, "I may have a friend who can help you."
 "Help me what?"
 "Just let her take a look at your legs, huh?"
 Raiel shook her head and sighed, "Look, my father has been taking me to
charlatans and doctors for a hundred years...trust me, the  attempt is
worthless."
 "Maybe there is something Nat knows that the others did not."
 "Nat?  Like in a bug?"
 Nick threw a nasty look in her direction and then headed for the
phone...okay, this could be a challenge.
 On the couch Raiel sighed, "Whatever." And fell back into a deep
slumber.  As it was with every other vampire her age, she would not wake
again until the sun set on the horizon.
 Nick stared at the phone and finally picked it up, dialing Nat's number,
he sighed when her answering machine picked up.
 Usually he never left a message, but under the
circumstances..."Nat...look, I know your sick...erm, and pissed at me,
which can be a lethal combination, but I need your medical opinion and
some help with a problem that seems to have dropped into my lap.  can you
come over," he paused and then added, "please."
 There it was, the invitation was open, no matter how formal it might
have been.
 Raiel woke to a pin prick in her right leg.  She flinched and opened her
eyes almost laughing when she realized she had been moved yet again.
Nick was not present but a woman with long, curly chestnut colored hair
was leaning over the leg that had been uncovered.  Raiel smiled at the
concentration and scrutiny on the woman's face.
 "Would you mind telling me why you're inflicting pain on me?"
 The voice startled Natalie out of her thoughts and she looked up, "I'm
sorry, can you feel that?"
 "You must be...Nat?"
 Natalie blushed, "I'm sorry again. Yes, Dr. Natalie Lambert."
 Raiel stuck out a hand, "Raiel Jackobson."
 They shook hands and Nat was surprised by the young woman's warm touch.
 "Nick asked me to take a look at your legs, but you know, they seem
awfully healthy to me."
 Raiel drifted up toward the ceiling about three inches and then turned
her body to set it down again on the bed, "I know, I tried to explain
this to Nick, there is nothing wrong with my legs, never has bee...my
father thinks it might be some kind of genetic alteration because of my
nature as a half-breed."
 Natalie Lambert was unprepared for this revelation. Nick had told her
that Raiel was a vampire, but mentioned nothing bout this.
 "Nick didn't tell you?" Nat shook her head.
 "Well my mother was a mortal.  She died about 124 years ago when
she was 80.  My father will eventually love again, but never like
that."
 Natalie hadn't actually gotten past the part of Raiel's statement
that mentioned her having a mortal mother.  Her mind set and
focused on that statement, allowing nothing else to permeate what
she was contemplating.  Raiel Jackobson had a human mother and a
father who was a vampire. How was that possible?
 Could she and Nick really...she cut off her line of thinking.  He
would have said something if it were possible...wouldn't he?
 She turned back to Raiel, 'How?"
 The young woman laughed, her soft blue eyes glittered with
repressed humor, "You went to medical school and you want a 124
year-old kid to explain it to you?"
 Natalie shook her head, "No, I mean..." she was blushing and she
knew it, "I just didn't think that vampires could...well, uhm..."
 Raiel smirked, "Get it up?"
 "Well, I wasn't going to put it quite so bluntly, but yes."
 "Yes, well..it's tricky."
 "Tell me?" The look on Nat's face was genuine and Raiel's heart
went out to her, Dear God, she loved that man and what was more,
she'd never told him.
 "I think I understand." raiel was nodding.
 "What"
 Natalie was beginning to look a bit pale and green around the
gills, but Raile, obviously not one to be evasive smiled,"You love
Nick, yes?"
 Nat now looked like she was about to jump out of her skin, until
a soft whispering voice crept through her mind, into her soul, like
velvet, beyond anything she could explain, it was the feeling of
solitude and solace, "Worry not Doctor, I have no desire to
interfere with your life or nick's either for that matter."
 "The relief must have shown because the blue-eyes twinkled, "All
I can tell you is the story my father told me and hope it brings
you some peace."
 Raiel leaned back against a massive bunch of pillows and began
aligned than spanned the centuries, "It is said of our people that
once and only once in a vampire's existence they will meet a
mortal who so captures their heart, soul and mind that they are
unable to leave them behind, for anything.  This mortal,
apparently, has no desire to be brought across and instead chooses
to live out the rest of their mortal life with their true love.
This type of love is so pure, so undefiled that the boundaries
that usually prevent lovemaking between mortal and vampire are
broken and they are able to share a happy, complete life together
until that mortals natural death.  I am the offspring of one such
union."
 "They can have children?"
 Raiel paused, "Sometimes, but it is rare, there are very few of
my kind left."
 "But it's possible."
 There was laughter, "Dr. Lambert, anything is possible.  Does
Nick know how you feel about him?"
 "Well...yes...yes, I mean, I assume he does."
 "But you've never actually told him." It was not a question.
 "No."
 Raiel grinned, exposing her sharpened teeth as she did so.  Nat
took a step back, but the young half-breed seemed oblivious to the
reaction.  She floated to the edge of the bed and pulled on her
tattered jeans.  She then began riffling through Nick's closet for
a clean shirt, finally donning a black button-up over the already
black t-shirt she had on, "If you'll excuse me, there is someone I
was supposed to meet yesterday, he is probably worried."
 Nat nodded and Raiel looked up at her I the silence, "do me a
favor?"
 "What?"
 "Tell Nick I'm a big girl and to stop trying to play daddy, I
have one already.  I tell you, I was surprised when Javier said he
had settled in Toronto, but go figure."
 "Javier Vachon?"
 "Yeah, know him?"
 "Briefly."
 "I used to run with his crew just after my mother died, we're
having a memorial...'Raiel paused, as if these were memories she'd
rather not have and turned back to Natalie before leaving the room.
 "Hey, Nat?"
 "Yeah?"
 "Don't you think it's about time that Nick knew?"
 Natalie paused and then nodded at the black form that was
disappearing down Nick's staircase, yes, perhaps it was time.
************************************************************************
******
 Nat sat on Nick's couch, channel surfing because she was nervous
and if she didn't do something she was going to chew the top part
of her bottom lip off.  What was Nick going to think?  Worse yet,
what was Nick going to do if she suddenly professed her undying
love for him?  He was going to go ballistic.  No...no...no, her
thoughts rifled through his possible responses. 1) Freaking out
(which had occurred to her more than once) 2) Express his own
undying love and ask her to stay with her forever. (which had
occurred to her briefly and then she decided she was a moron) 3)
Pat her on the head, a quick kiss on the cheek and a reminder
(again) that they would always have to share a deep friendship
because as frustrating as it was, that was all he was capable of
until they found a cure (which had seemed the most logical).
 Nat thought about that for a moment.  Raiel was living proof that
Nick was wrong.  So se sat there, resolve intact, and waited.
 She didn't know how long she had been sitting there, but she
heard the elevator door open and his footsteps move through the
room.  The moment was hysterically like the day she had decided to
give up on him and the feeling was the same as well too, fear.
 'Where is Raiel?"
 Nat refrained from turning to look at him, knowing that if she
did everything she wanted to say, everything she had been holding
back, everything she had carefully rehearsed would come tumbling
out in a pathetic plea for love and kindness.
 "Gone to visit Vachon."  Was her voice shaking...nah.
 Nick was stunned, "She knows Vachon?" He was desperately trying
to keep this conversation normal, but he could tell that something
was not right.  Nat's next sarcastic words confirmed all of his
suspicions.
 "It would appear that Raiel knows quite a lot."
 He sighed, 'Do I need to sit down for this?"" why did this seem
so very familiar?
 Nat gave him a smile that could have challenged the angels, "You
might want to."
 He was half encouraged by the smile and have in fear of what was
to come.  Something rather important, he was going to guess.
 Good guess.
 Nat stared into empty space for a moment unsure what to do.  Now
that she had him here, she wasn't quite sure what to do with him.
 Nick, for his part, was fidgeting in the silence that was
lingering longer than he would have liked.
 "Nat?"  His voice edged with anxiety.  Natalie stood and faced
him, staring into his deep blue eyes, looking for strength.
Finally, she blurted out what had been a part of her heart and
soul for 4 years, "Nick...I love you.  I just think it's time I
told you that, I know I never actually said it, but I am now. I
love you, Nick, I always have." She took a breath.
 The brick looked like...well, like a brick.
 He could handle this...couldn't he?
************************************************************************
******
 "Just remember that he who dies with the most prizes still
dies."--LaCroix, Trophy Girl

************************************************************************
******


** I'm writing this without my notebook trying to remember what it was
about so bare with me, okay?  **


Anything is Possible
Julie Randolph

Part 3 of 4

 Raiel entered the underground hovel that used to serve as Screeds home
and instanty felt a wave a nasuea and regret.  Vachon had indeed cleaned
it up...eh, a little, and was  now completely absorbed in staring into
the depths of a bottle, one of many from the others he had lined along
the cement wall.  He looked vaguely like Nick, and Raiel smiled.
 "Something trying to chew your eyeball in the bottom of that thing?"
 Javier Vachon, the vampire (besides Nick) known for not showing much
emotion, looked up and his entire face brightened.
 He moved across the room with lightening speed and pulled Raiel into a
tight embrace.  She laughed,"If you wouldn't crush me to death..."
 He paused,"Oh, sorry...You have no idea how glad I am that your here."
 She floated up a ways and seated herself on the upper portion of the
steps,"Indeed?  You look like shit."
 "But feeling much better."
 He moved closer, his intentions were obvious, until Raiel shook her head
gently and moved out of his reach.
 "Still the same, after all these years?"
 "Even if I could change how I feel, Javier, I wouldn't."
 "You have to let go."
 She shook her head again,"No, I don't."  There was a build up of tears
in her soft eyes as she looked at him, the sparkling blue wavering on the
edge of the waters of an ocean,'I thought I had forever, Javier...and I
was wrong."
 He closed his arms around her,"You have me."
 "I didn't come back to run with the crew again."
 Vachon's face turned red with anger,"So what, you're just going to go
out there and...what...hide fore the rest of your life?  I understand
that your angry, raiel, but life goes on."
 "Angry?  ANGRY?  You can't even begin to know what it's like to be me.
Are you asking me if I hate it that I am unaccepted in vampire and human
circles alike and that my one link to the world, my one hope for a normal
life, the only one who ever loved me is dead...yes I hate it, it fills me
with rage...I SHOULD have had forever, and now we must all realize that
we cannot take life for granted."  She  seemed to deflate with her words,
going from screaming to silent in less than a second.
 "I'm sorry."  His voice was soft, gentle and she looked up and smiled.
 "It's not your fault."
 "If I couldhave done anything for him..."
 "I know. So who's going to the memorial?"
 He sighs,"As far as I know, me, you, Urs and Brabaut, he flew in from
Paris today."
 "Fine, let's go say good-bye and let me say good-bye and go wherever it
is I'm going next."
 "Where will you go?"
 She shrugs,'I don't think it matters anymore."
**************************************************
 The air by the seashore was brisk, the waters choppy, but one flickering
candle seemed reluctant to go out.  The mourners sat in a circle,
drinking and whispering softly as if perhaps they were not sure what to
say, as if perhaps they had never know Screed at all.  Vachon looked
around and could see the condeming look in each of their eyes.  Why was
she here?  She had deserted their crew years ago, what business did she
have here?  Certainly, Vachon had done everything in his power to keep
their strange friendship a secret, and later...well, perhaps he had held
back too much, for too long.  Maybe had she felt at ease among them she
would have stayed.
 "Raiel, do you want to say anything?"
 She smirked, looking at the vampires gathered,"Yeah, I want to say a lot
of things, but I don't have a death wish yet."
 "You are free to speak here."  He looked around for confirmation and
everyone nodded.  On this night, in this place, she was free to speak.
 "Okay, then let me tell you a story, one that spans a hundred years and
maybe you will understand that the Cockney vampire you used to hold in
such a low position was not what you thought.  You looked at him and you
saw a guttersnipe, a rat, and you looked at me and sawthe same thing, a
half-breed with no real home and no real people to turn to.  There are no
others of my kind, I am the only one.  He never saw that, he never
condemed or placed blame, if ever a vampire went to heaven, he did, for
he was the kindest, most gentle man I have ever known."
 the group had fallen into silence as the web of Raiel's story spun
around them.
 Raiel stared around herself looking for shelter.  Midday in the middle
of Yorkshire england in 1900 was not a good place to be for a young
half-vampire.  She found some shelter under an overhang, wondering if she
was going to get in trouble for loitering.  She had a good mind to leave
the area, when the grate behind her opened up and a pair of hands pulled
her inside.  She fell into the dirt, spitting with anger, her eyes blazed
a bluish/white and when she stood and turned, she found herself face to
face with the golden eyes of a growling vampire.
 It took them a moment to realize they looked stupid and they burst into
laughter.  The man wore tattered clothes, but a twinkling, friendly blue
replaced the gold and raiel was drawn to him.
 "Eh, so wot I go 'ere?"
 "Eh?  Sheesh, where did you get that nasty accent."
 "Been 'round."
 raiel raised an eyebrow,"Indeed. So what are you dragging me into the
gutter for?"
 "Lunch?"
 "Shit out of luck there, buddy."
 "I see that."  Raiel noticed that the "Cockney" accent had been lost as
he became more comfortable with her.
 "What's your name?"
 "Screed."
 "Screed?  What, your mother hated you?"
 "Nickname."
 She smiled,"Real name?"
 He grimaced,"Samuel"
 "Thought I recodnized your face."
 "Excuse me?"
 "Don't get all wary on me, you are, in fact, Lord Samuel Rochester of
Yorkshire who dissappeared about 200 years ago, are you not?"
 "How did you know that?"
 "My father was a friend of your grandfather, when you dissappeared, he
helped in the search, but he knew what had happened. "
 "So, who are you?"
 Raiel actually blushed,"Sorry, Raiel Jackobson.  Mind if I stay here
until the sun goes down?"
 Screed paused,"You're not a vampire."
 It wasn't a question and it was a sore spot with Raiel,"Well, that would
be a matter of opinion."
 "Well, I can't be junding like, not clean meself, ya know?"
 "Not clean?"
 "Called Carouche."  He flinched as if he expected her to spurn him.
 "A what?  Ahh..nevermind, forget it, I don't care."
 "You don't?"
 "What could a half-breed possibly see wrong in a Carouche?"
 He smiled, it made his face light up,"You have a point."
 Raiel emerged from the story with a general look of stun from everyone.
 "After that day we were never apart until my father became ill and I had
to leave the crew.  You never understood me, you never understood him
because you assumed things which were wrong.  But I will tell you one
thing."  She stood and picked up the bottle they had been drinking out
of, flinging it into the ocean,"You may have alwyas thought you had
forever, but take a look, death comes to us all, do not waste away the
time you have, be that 10 years or 10,000.  Someone or something will
alwyas find a way to bring us down, immortality is a ruse given to you by
masters who didn't know a damn thing...know this, there is no
immortality, for in one thing vampire and human are the same, we are all
going to die...eventually."
 With that, she took off into the sky and was gone.
************************************************************************
all comments, spams, oreos, definitions of irony, and/or Geraint Wyn
Davies home address to randolph@tenet.edu

My thanks to Greg Kramer who helped me write most of the "Screed's past
life" portion

"So he's not human, no one's perfect."--The Lunatic Cafe
*************************************************************************

** Here it is...finally, the last part to the longest lasting short-story
in history.  Again, I wrote this nearly 3 months ago, so everyone was
still alive. **

JCR

Anything is Possible
Julie Randolph

Part 4 of 4

 Nick seemed to be paused in a stop-motion of shock and disbelief.  He
stood, running one hand through his hair causing it to curl out of place
and look rumpled.  Natalie simply watched him from where she stood.  Had
her revelation caused a gigantic vampire heart failure, or was it natural
for him to be so quiet?  No, definately not normal, but then again, look
who she was talking about.  Somehow, she doubted that normalicy reigned
in this instance.
 Nick did not speak, nor did he seem to acknwledge what she had said.
Somewhere in his mind, her words wre trying desperatly to filter through
as he tried his hardest to rid himself of the feelings and emotions they
evoked.
 Finally, after several long minutes of total silence, he sighed, turned,
took two long strides to close the distance between them and pulled her
into his arms.  Electricity crackeled in the air as he touched her, a
testament to the explosion of desire that wsa too long denied and too
late to change.
 Natalie's brain had lost its grip on reality.  She could only cling to
him helplessly, reveling in the moment, perhaps the only real emotion she
would ever get him to admit.
 He pulled away.  Allowing her to see the monster inside him and she
almost looked back toward the living room.  Nick caught her chin in mid
motion, forcing her to look at him, to see the monster and hope she was
afraid enough to know what was best for her.  But somehow, someway, she
stood rigid, unafraid.
 "How can you love this...a monster?"  His voice was raspy with emotion,
expanding thelimits of control he so carefully maintained.
 "How is it possible tht you still believe that of yourself after all we
have been through together?"
 His voice rose in pitch, almost yelling,"It doesn't matter Nat!  I will
always be like this, I will never change, I am a killer and I always will
be, can't you accept that?"
 She shook her head, sighing with frustration,"You still don't
understand, perhaps you never will."
 "What?" His voice dropped back to a whisper in barely a second.
 Natalie reached out and touched his cheek gently,"I don't love just a
man.  I love you...all of you, everything about you, without exception.
This is what love is Nick.  Unconditional..." she paused, "...as it
always has been."
 He stopped, paused for a second and then smiled, bringing their lips
together,"Unconditionally?"
 "Yes."
 "Why?"
 She laughed as she wrapped her arms around his neck,"I don't know.
Perhaps there is no need to explain it."
 He raised an eyebrow in question and she laughed the giddy laughter of
triumph.  He had accepted.  Now...if she could just keep him this way.
He seemed different now, relaxed perhaps, but something else in those so
very blue eyes caught her attention.  She pondered this silently until he
spoke, and she realized what it was.
 "Nat...maybe it can't last forever, but for what it's worth and as long
as it does last...I love you too, I always have, with every fiber of my
being.  Please don't ever leave me."
 Natalie curled into his strong arms with a promise on her lips, a
promise of forever, if only in his mind,"Not in this lifetime."  And he
laughed.  Finally admitting what she had known all along.  The new shine
in his eyes was that of acceptance, and she need never fear her feelings
for him again.  He was hers. Body, and soul.
 Outside the window, with the wind blowing strands of amber hair across
her face, Raiel smiled.
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response, comments, silly putty, long stemmed roses and/or Geraint Wyn
Davies home address to randolph@tenet.edu


"So he's not human, no one's perfect."--The Lunatic Cafe
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