Date: Wed, 22 May 1996 17:35:41 -0400 From: Charlyne Linda Walker I sat down to write a totally different short story, however, the characters had different ideas about what needed to be told. There are some slight Fever spoilers in here, so if you have not seen the episode yet read at your own risk. Comments, flames, and virtual chocolate can be send to Charlyne@servms.fiu.edu Please be kind, this is my first fanfic not counting a few Highlander war posts. Disclaimers: The characters in this work are not my own, they belong to JP & TPTB. I borrowed them to play with for a while, but I will give them back when I am finished, however, we removed children from abusive homes and I think that these characters might deserve the same protection. Choices of the Heart (1/2) by Charlyne L. Walker It was the end of another long week for Detectives Knight and Vetter. It seemed as if every homicidal maniac in Canada had made a trek to Toronto that week and found their way into Nick and Tracey's case load. "I will be glad to get home, take a long hot bath and think of nothing more life threatening then a hamburger and french fries for two whole days" remarked Tracey as she closed the file on their last case. "I know what you mean, we have been getting some strange ones lately haven't we" replied her partner. "Whatcha going to do with your weekend, Nick?" "Nat & I are going to rent some movies and just relax. She has been kept pretty busy as well." "Knight! Vetter!" Both partners looked up as the captain called their names. "My office" As Tracey and Nick made their way over to the captain he initiated another futile attempt to get water out of the cooler. Tracey and Nick joined him at the cooler, waiting to follow him to his office. "You would think we could get a cooler in here that works for a change of pace?" they heard him muttering as the followed into his office. "What's up Cap?" Nick said, as they seated themselves in the office. "Is there a problem with one of our cases" "No, no problem. I just wanted to congratulate you on the capture of the perp in the Hanson murder. Nice work. I noticed that you have been pulling double duty lately, both of you, and I want you both to take Monday off. Take a long weekend, get away from the job. You could even take more time if you want. I don't want to see one of my best teams to lose their edge. Now get out of here, and don't let me see either one of you until at least Tuesday!" "Thanks Cap" they both replied in unison as they rose to leave. *********************************************************** Later that evening at Tracey's apartment... "Can you believe it Vachon, three whole day off! I don't have to deal with the weirdos and wackos for three whole days." "So, what are you going to do with your time?" "I haven't decided yet. Any suggestions?" "You wouldn't like my suggestions. Not safe enough for you." "Try me!" Tracey said, as she thought to herself 'I can't wait to hear what he thinks is dangerous.' "How would you like to go camping. Alone. With me. In the middle of nowhere, with nothing around and no conveniences? I know of a nice, quiet place about a half an hour from here. I have a small cabin that we can stay at, but I warn you, there is nothing remotely like civilization anywhere around." "So, how do we get there, do we have to hike in from the road or can we drive up to the cabin?" "We fly" "Fly? There's a small airport near by?" "No, we fly 'Vachon airlines' directly to the cabin" Javier replied with the wry smile she had grown used to seeing. "Pack light, if you please and you might want to pack your stuff in a backpack so you can wear it on your back and you won't have to hold it while we fly. You will also want to dress warm and pack a blanket, the night air can get kind of cold both during our "flight" and at the cabin. You may also want to put together enough food for you for the weekend, there's no where to buy provisions and I don't have much in the way of food that you would appreciate. I'll fly our provisions up first and then come back and get you. We have time, we could leave tonight, that is if you are interested..." Tracey had an unsure look on her face, but she decided that you only live, or die, once. Besides, she figured if Javier wanted to do away with her he would have done it before now. Taking a deep breath, she replied, "Sounds like fun. It won't take me long to get my stuff together and pack some food." "Great. I'll be back in half an hour to pick up the provisions." and with that Javier flew off before Tracey could change her mind. As soon as he left Tracey made a beeline for her pantry to see what non-perishables she had on hand. Good thing she had been a girl guide growing up, be prepared and all that. 'Lets see,' she thought looking over her pantry, 'peanut butter is always a good choice, tuna and a can opener, bread...' Tracey gathered the supplies and put them in a travel bag that Vachon could carry over his shoulder. Javier arrived just as she zipped the bag. "You sure about this?" At her nod he picked up the bag, said "I'll be back soon" and disappeared faster then Tracey could follow. After Vachon's second departure Tracey gathered the other items she needed for the weekend. She put some clothes, a blanket, a flashlight, toiletries, her gun and a book in her backpack. With this finished she sat down to wait for Vachon to return for their flight to the cabin. As she sat still the doubts that were hovering in the back of her mind came out to play in full force. 'He could kill me out there and no one would be the wiser, what was I thinking about when I said yes. I don't even really know this guy, and he is a *vampire*, great Trace, go off with some who sees your kind as food.' Tracey's thoughts tumbled over themselves as she started to consider all of the ramifications of the choice that she had made. 'The crux of the question is, how much do I trust him?' and with that thought another came to light 'I trust him with my life. I just hope he is worthy of my trust.' Tracey was so deep into her thoughts that she gave quite a start when Vachon appeared in front of her. "Still haven't changed your mind?" "Do you want me to?" Javier mouthed "no" softly and gave her one of his inscrutable looks. "So how do we do this? Do you pick me up like Superman or what?" Tracey asked. Now that she had committed to going her excitement was beginning to build. "Put your backpack on and I'll put my arm around you. You ready?" "As I'll ever be" Flying was unlike anything Tracey had ever experienced. Sure, she had flown in an airplane, but to fly through the night with nothing around you is a unique experience. 'Toronto looks quite different from the air. From up here it is easy to believe that the crime, drugs and other problems associated with a large city do not really exist.' she thought to herself as they moved away from the city. The night was cool, but not too cold and the excitement running through her blood was enough to keep the cold at bay. 'If I were a vampire I would fly every night of my, uh, unlife.' Tracey thought to herself. Too soon it seemed, to Tracey anyway, they reached Vachon's cabin in the woods. It was a rustic looking log cabin with what appeared to be a fire place and it looked like a snug place to spend the day. The windows had heavy shutters covering them to keep out the suns rays during the day. There was a porch at the front of the house, complete with a swing. Javier landed just in front of the porch and gently stepped away from Tracey without letting go of her completely to give her the chance to get used to being on terra firma again. "Welcome to 'Casa de Vachon' Trace." "It's beautiful. Did you build this yourself?" "No, I won it in a card game about a century ago and I thought it would be a good place to hide from the Inca. There's no running water in the cabin, but there is a clear stream behind it that we can get water from. Why don't we go inside and I will show you where to put your gear." Tracey walked up to the cabin and opened the door. 'I guess there is no need for locks this far away from anyone' she thought as the door opened easily under her hand. Tracey didn't know what to expect of 'Casa de Vachon' knowing what kind of 'home' Javier has made out of the abandoned church. Whatever her expectations they certainly did not come close to the simple yet tastefully decorated cabin. As she walked inside she took in the heavy, antique looking furniture and the native decor. The chairs situated in front of a large fireplace looked comfortable and welcoming. As she looked around the room she noticed a table in the kitchen, an old looking wood burning stove and a small area that could pass as the sink. Leading from the main room was one door that appeared to lead to the only bedroom. "It's beautiful" Tracey said with a note of awe in her voice. "I told you that I'm not a slacker" Javier said with a grin. "There is only one bed, but I don't snore. Why don't we get the provisions put away and then I will take you for a short walk before the sunrise." Tracey stored the provisions that Javier had brought up earlier in the kitchen area and put her backpack in the bedroom while Javier started a fire in the large fireplace. Javier took Tracey outside and showed her where the stream was located. He also pointed out an outhouse that looked like it had not been used for a hundred years. They walked around the area for a short while until the first dim streaks of light started to brighten the sky. When they returned to the cabin Vachon poured himself a glass of the "special blend" and asked Tracey if she was hungry. Tracey had eaten before she left, so she got her book from the bedroom and settled into one of the chairs in front of the fire. Javier joined her to finish his "dinner" as it were. After a short time he retired to the bed to get some much needed rest. Even for a vampire of his age it had been a rather busy night. (End of part 1, continued in part 2) Choices of the Heart (2/2) by Charlyne L. Walker Tracey was still too keyed up to sleep right now and she wanted to sort out her thoughts before climbing into bed with Javier. She know at this point that the decision to deepen the relationship with Vachon would mean a drastic change in her life. Tracey sta in the chair in front of the fire for hours with her book unopened. She decided that if she were going to enjoy the weekend she should get some sleep. Better to face life changing decisions with sleep behind you and a clear head rather than having your thinking confused by exhaustion. She tentatively got up out of the chair and walked toward the bedroom. 'I don't have much experience climbing into bed with a near stranger' she thought to herself. She stopped at the door and looked at the sleeping form of Vachon in the dim light from the fireplace. From this vantage point he appeared to be dead. 'Getting into bed with a dead looking near stranger is an even more disconcerting reality' a voice in the back of her mind added. Tracey slowly moved over to the side of the bed that Vachon had left for her and cautiously climbed under the covers. Within moments of hitting the bed her exhausted body took over for her whirling mind and Tracey Vetter slept the sleep of the innocent. Javier woke up just as the sunset, as was his custom. He opened his eyes to see the back of Tracey's head right in front of him. Somehow while they slept they had moved together and were now laying like "spoons." Javier just lay there listening to her heart beat with his sensitive hearing. The slow even cadence of Tracey's breathing and her heart beat were like a calming melody to his ears. As he lay there Javier did something that he did not often indulge in, he thought about his life and where he was going. Tracey had touched something deep inside of him that no one, not even Urs, had been able to find. She amused him with her naive idea of right and wrong. He knew that the world contained many shades of grey and after almost 500 years he was still no closer to the answers of life then when he was a young, mortal, Spanish soldier fighting so far from home and family. Somehow his heart wanted to believe again that everything could be "alright," whatever that means, if you believe hard enough. His relationship with Tracey was so complex, even more complex then he realized. He was still surprised that Tracey took such a great leap of faith as to go into the middle of nowhere with a creature that could easily kill her and leave without so much as a second thought. Well, there were some realities that he needed to clue Tracey in on and then they needed to decide if they both had the courage to pursue this relationship in any form. As these thoughts passed through his mind he could feel Tracey begin to wake up. "Good evening, sleepy head" he said as he kissed the back of her head before turning to get up. "Good evening. What time is it?" "Shortly after sunset. Are you ready to get up and get something to eat?" "Give me a minute and I will meet you in the kitchen. Could you put some water on to boil in that antique you call a stove?" she said with a smile. "Will do." Javier started another fire in the fireplace and picked up the tea kettle from the kitchen. He went out to the stream to get the requested water for Tracey's coffee. Meanwhile, Tracey got out of bed and collected the things needed to be ready to face a new day...er night. She passed Javier on his way back into the cabin as she walked to the old outhouse and the stream. Javier got the water set to boil and poured himself another meal. He also began to look through the food stuffs Tracey had packed to see if he could find something that would make a passable mortal breakfast. He found the "breakfast tarts" at the top of the bag. True to form Tracey had packed everything in the order of need. He set out a package of tarts for her and took out a new looking coffee mug that looked strangely out of place with the remainder of the furnishings of the cabin. He put the mug and the instant coffee he found on the table for Tracey to use when she came back in and sat down at the table trying to figure out what to say to Miss Vetter when she returned. Tracey took her time over getting ready to go back into the cabin. 'This is silly,' she thought to herself, 'it's not as if he has not seen me this morning already.' Still, she took care to look the best one can when one is standing in the cold evening of a pitch dark wilderness trying to get dressed in the light of a flashlight. Javier had just started to get up and go look for her to make sure that no ill had befallen Tracey outside when she opened the door and come back inside. After dropping her things in the bedroom, Tracey return to the kitchen and she was pleasantly surprised when she noticed that her breakfast things had been set out already. 'One point in his favor' she added mentally. Tracey and Javier were uncomfortably silent as they watched each other across the kitchen table. Tracey decided to break the ice and threw out the question "so, what did you have in mind for tonight?" "I don't know. Would you like to go flying again and explore the area a little bit? We can go a short way from here and I can show you some of the native ruins." "That sounds great. Let me wash my mug, grab a coat and I will be ready to go." Javier flew them to a site not too far away were they explored ruins for several hours. Even with the flashlight as her only break in the darkness Tracey enjoyed herself. She also felt some of the wall between herself and Javier breaking down as he told her stories of when he lived with the inhabitants of the ruins and what it was like when it was a living place. When Tracey began to tire a little bit Javier flew them back to the cabin for 'lunch' and a siesta. As they sat in front of the fire there was a more comfortable rapport between them now. Javier decided that now was the best of any to broach the subject of the obstacles to their relationship. "Trace..." he began. "Tracey, you have come to mean a great deal to me in the last few months. I began to realize how much you were starting to mean to me when I was dying of the fever. My first reaction was to run, it has always seemed to work for me in the past. But, I could not get myself to purchase the plane ticket and leave Toronto." As he paused, Tracey started to open her mouth to say something, but Javier moved faster then she could follow and placed his cool finger on her lips. "Let me finish what I have to say, before I lose the nerve. I know that I should leave and let you go back to your nice, safe little world of cops and robbers. I know that you face danger on the job every day, but that is nothing compared to the kind of danger that you will face if we decide to move forward. For all of my appearance of humanity, the vampire is who and what I am. Ours would not be a 'normal' relationship between a man and a woman. I wish that it would be that simply complex. Death is a part of the vampires very soul. If I get too close, if I let myself out of control for even one second you will be dead. We almost always seem to kill that which we feel most strongly about. Of course, for me, the easy solution would be to bring you across so that we can go where ever our emotions take us. You have to understand that passion, lust and the need to feed are all combined in a vampires nature. When the blood lust reaches a certain point we don't have the strength to control it, and we don't usually have the desire to control it either" "I don't know if I am ready to give up being mortal. I don't know that I will ever be ready to make the step into darkness permanently. Why don't we begin by building our friendship and see where it takes us. I would most definitely like to get to know you better Javier Vachon." Vachon sat on the floor in front of the fire and opened his arms to Tracey. She moved next to him and put her head on his shoulder and together they began the long process of getting to know one another. _______________________________________________________ Well, that's it for now. What did you think? Would you like to see more? Thanks for taking the time to read... Charlyne Walker Charlyne@servms.fiu.edu MFW in the first Highlander war!