Date: Mon, 28 Jul 1997 11:49:22 -0700 Reply-To: kathline@v-wave.com Sender: Forever Knight TV show stories From: Kathleen Seibel Subject: Dawn of Hope (1/4) To: FKFIC-L@psuvm.psu.edu This is my first attempt at fanfic, so please, be kind. This story takes place (as if you can't tell) at the end of Last Knight. The characters do not belong to me, I'm just borrowing them for the story. Also, a big thank you to my beta readers. Your comments and suggestions were invaluable. DAWN OF HOPE It was a pleasant dream. Natalie didn't want to wake up, but she knew she had to. Something much more insistent than an alarm clock demanded that she open her eyes and pay attention to what was going on around her. Giving in, she prepared to wake up to she knew was going to be a nightmare. "You are my closest friend," she heard a sweetly familiar voice say. She smiled, flattered, before she realized that the voice was not speaking to her. In fact, it didn't seem to be aware of her at all. She struggled to push her way out of the mental fog that obscured reality, for this was real, and somehow she knew it was very important that she stay awake. The next voice sent shivers up her spine. "Damn you, Nicholas," it proclaimed. Nicholas. Natalie's mind snapped into action. She knew that name. She knew that man. She *loved* that man. And - and this other voice, "LaCroix," her mind whispered, was about to do something terrible to him. Her eyes saw Nicholas - Nick - looming over her, his own eyes shut tight against anticipated pain. Her eyes shifted slightly, and she saw LaCroix holding a wooden stake, actually a walking stick, set to drive it into his son's heart. "No!" She wanted to yell; but the sound that came out of her mouth was a whisper, one which not even Nick's enhanced hearing could detect. Natalie's mind rebelled against her frailty, and, in her frustration and fear, called upon abilities which, until this moment, she was unaware she, or any other human possessed. Focusing on LaCroix, and the stake he was holding, she ignited it with the power of her mind alone. This startled LaCroix, but she knew he would recover quickly. She next focused on Nick, and, without knowing quite how, used this new power of hers to slam him against the wall, all without laying a finger on him, or even raising her head. To say Nick was surprised was an understatement. "LaCroix!" he yelled. "You were supposed to kill me, not throw me around like kindling!" LaCroix, himself confused as to how the stake had suddenly burst into flames in his hands, denied everything. "Nicholas, believe me, I did not throw *you* at all. I did, however, throw the stake into the fireplace." Nick frowned in confusion. "Why would you do that?" LaCroix patiently explained, "Because it suddenly was a flaming torch, and, unlike you, I am not quite ready to destroy myself." Natalie lay forgotten on the floor as the two vampires discussed the mystery of the flaming torch. She was awake and beginning to remember what had happened before she woke up. She understood why she felt so weak; but she didn't understand where she had gotten these new abilities that seemed to work by thought alone. "It is a gift," a voice whispered in her ear. *A gift?* she thought in confusion. What kind of a gift was this, anyway? How was it possible? Who was it from? "A gift," the voice insisted, "so you do not forget what almost happened here tonight. It is our hope that you will use it wisely in the future to help those who have need of your assistance, your very special skills. The way you helped this one tonight." *I don't understand*, she inwardly wailed. "You will," the voice promised. "In time, you will. I'm leaving you now, but remember, I am always nearby, Natalie, always watching over you, just as there is one watching over him." "Wait," Natalie mumbled. Nick's head turned, sure that he heard Natalie's voice, a beloved voice he had thought never to hear again. His argument with LaCroix was forgotten. Natalie was all that mattered. He rushed to her side, and anxiously listened for her heart...it was beating steadily. He touched her skin, and it was warm. She was alive. More than that, she was mortal still, even after his blundering. "Natalie." His voice caressed her mind. She stared up at him, eyes filled with wonder and excitement and love. "Nick," she managed to reply. "I- I thought you were dead," he said, his voice thick with tears. She smiled at him lovingly. "I'm not." He pulled her into his arms and held her close, remembering what had happened to her. "Are you all right?" he asked fearfully. "Do you feel faint, or sick, or something? Maybe we should call an ambulance." Natalie managed a laugh. Actually, she felt her strength returning. She could sit up now, and was beginning to feel like herself again. "I'll be fine, Nick. All I need is some sleep and I think, maybe some food." Nick looked at her in astonishment. "You're hungry?" Natalie grinned. "Amazingly enough, I am. Not for a seven course banquet, of course, but maybe something light. Soup would be nice." Nick turned to LaCroix, who had been silently watching and listening to them, marveling to himself over what he had witnessed. He knew there was more going on here than either Nicholas or Natalie realized, but for now, it was enough to know Nicholas no longer wished to be staked. The rest he would figure out later, when he was alone. "LaCroix?" Nick hesitantly began. "Yes?" LaCroix was sure he was not going to like this one bit. "Would you mind getting Natalie some soup? I would do it myself, but I simply can't...leave...her...." Nick's voice trailed off as he turned back to Natalie. "Of course, Nicholas," LaCroix said. "I'd love to get the good doctor some soup. Shall I fluff her pillow as well? Perhaps read her a bedtime story?" His sarcasm went unnoticed as Nick and Natalie held each other close. LaCroix, feeling irritated and a little left out, set off in search of soup. Nick stroked Natalie's face gently with his fingertips. He couldn't believe she was still alive! More than that, she didn't hate him. He had almost killed her, but here she was, in his arms, holding and being held by him. Sensing a presence, he turned to find LaCroix had returned holding a bowl of steaming soup. "Natalie," he murmured. "Your soup is here." Her eyes opened. If it could have, his heart would have caught just to see the love shining in her eyes, love for him. "Thank you," she said. LaCroix handed the soup and a spoon to Nick. Natalie reached for the spoon, but Nick just began to feed her. When the soup was gone, she closed her eyes again. "I think I want to go to sleep now, Nick." Nick rose, and lifted her into his arms. "I'll take you home." "No." Natalie's eyes opened again as she shook her head. "I am home. Wherever you are, that's where my home is." She paused. When he didn't object, she glanced at his face. The happiness she saw there assured her she had made the right decision. Almost as an afterthought, she focused her eyes on LaCroix, who was now reclining on the couch. "Could you go get my cat?" Nick answered immediately. "Of course. As soon as I tuck you into bed, I'll go get Sydney." Nat shook her head, and leaned it against Nick's shoulder. "No, don't leave me, Nick. I need to know you're with me." Nick looked helplessly at LaCroix. He stared back. With an expression of extreme distaste, LaCroix stood and reluctantly nodded. Nick returned his attention to Natalie. "LaCroix will get your cat." "Thank you," Natalie called over her shoulder, as Nick carried her up the stairs to the bed which was to become theirs. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> End of Part One. Kathleen Seibel kathline@v-wave.com also kseibel@usa.net Date: Mon, 28 Jul 1997 11:52:23 -0700 Reply-To: kathline@v-wave.com Sender: Forever Knight TV show stories From: Kathleen Seibel Subject: Dawn of Hope (2/4) To: FKFIC-L@psuvm.psu.edu See disclaimer in Part 1 DAWN OF HOPE PART 2 "LaCroix, stake me. LaCroix, go get soup. LaCroix, get the cat," LaCroix muttered as he flew to Natalie's apartment. "You'd think I was his servant, instead of his master, son instead of father." He reached the apartment and entered through the door, with the help of the key he had taken from Natalie's purse before leaving the loft. He looked around for the cat, which was nowhere in sight. "Here, kitty, kitty, kitty." Never in all his years had he felt so foolish. He fought the urge to bend over and snap his fingers to attract the cat's attention. "Here...uh...Sandy. Here, kitty." At last, he heard a noise in the kitchen. Moving in that direction, he was startled to feel a pressure against his legs. He looked down, and there was the cat. For some strange reason, it liked him. He reached down to pick it up, and off it scampered, back into the kitchen. LaCroix followed, glad his vampiric vision allowed him to see without turning on a light. The last thing he needed was to attract the attention of a neighbor. He spotted the cat sitting under the table, licking its front paw. "Here, Sally," he coaxed, edging nearer. The cat's ears lay back against its head as it considered whether or not to allow itself to be captured. LaCroix could almost hear its little cat brain whirring, trying to decide if the vampire was a friend or foe. He reached out a hand to it - And pulled it back with an angry red scratch for his trouble. Obviously, cat catching required special skills. As the scratch faded from his hand, LaCroix turned back to the cat...or at least, to where the cat had been. There was, of course, no sign of it now, but he could hear a crash coming from the living room. He followed, stalking the cat as carefully as he had ever stalked human prey. The cat sat in the middle of the room, eyes glowing green in the reflected light. LaCroix felt his own eyes begin to glow as his fangs start to descend. It was all he could do to keep from killing the cat right then and there, but he'd promised to return with the creature, and he didn't think the doctor would appreciate a dead cat as much as he would. The two predatory creatures locked eyes. For a second, LaCroix considered hypnotizing the cat, but he dismissed this idea almost immediately. No mere cat would get the better of him! He just stared at it, trying to figure out the cat's next move. It stared back, unblinking. For what seemed an eternity, they stared at each other, unmoving, until, with a roar, LaCroix suddenly leaped for the animal. He grabbed its tail, and finally captured the beast. It struggled, scratching him more times than he could count, but he kept his claim on it! Feeling pleased with himself, he flew back to the loft, more than ready to hand the demonic creature over to his son and the woman he loved. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> When Natalie awoke the next day, it took her a moment to remember why she was in Nick's bed, with her cat beside her and Nick on the floor. She leaned over and nudged his shoulder. "Nick," she said. No answer. Knowing from experience that trying to wake Nick was futile, she shrugged, and turned to her cat. "Hi, Sydney. So, you pushed Nick out of bed, hmm?" "Meow," the cat replied, standing. He stretched, and padded to the edge of the bed. He paused, looking back to see if she was following. Natalie laughed. "Yes, I'm coming." Sydney, assured his person was following him, jumped off the bed and walked regally out of the room. Natalie caught up with him in the kitchen. "You're hungry, huh? I wonder if there's anything for you to eat." She opened cupboards and the refrigerator, but there was no food suitable for either Sydney or herself. "Nothing." She closed the door of the refrigerator and sat down at the table. Looking at her watch, she noticed there was still an hour left before sunset. She didn't feel steady enough to venture out on her own for some groceries, so she would just have to wait until Nick woke up. Meanwhile, she made some coffee, glad that there was at least some of that left from previous visits. She sipped it slowly and replayed last night's events in her mind. *Definitely weird*, she decided. *The whole night, but the weirdest part of it all was igniting that stake and then throwing Nick into the wall.* She wondered if she would be able to do it again, now that the danger was past. She decided to try. Natalie focused on her coffee mug and tried to move it across the table. Nothing happened. Then, slowly, the mug slid away from her, moving faster and faster as her excitement grew. When it reached the edge of the table, she found she couldn't stop it. Natalie watched helplessly as the mug fell with a crash to the floor, the sound loud in the silent apartment. Evidently, using her new powers would require some practice. After cleaning up the mess she'd made, Natalie walked to the couch to lay down. To her surprise, someone was already there. No, not someone, she realized...something. The body sprawled out along the couch was transparent. As she stared, it opened its eyes. "Hi, Nat," it said. She backed away slowly. Vampires were one thing. But ghosts, despite the experience she'd had with what had appeared to be the ghost of her grandmother, were something she was not comfortable with. "H-how do you know my name?" The ghost stood, and walked to the kitchen, where the light was better. "Don't you recognize me?" Amazingly, once the figure was no longer obscured by shadows and her own terror, Natalie did. "Schanke?" He smiled. "In the flesh. Well, so to speak." Natalie was confused. "You're a ghost? What are you doing here?" Schanke's smile faded. "I'm not a ghost," he protested. "I'm an angel. Nick's angel. I've been with him ever since I died." "If you've been around for that long," Natalie began, "how come I've never seen you until now?" "You never needed to," he answered simply. "You can only see me now because there are some things you need to know, and I've been elected to tell you." "What things?" Natalie asked. "And why you?" Schanke shrugged. "Beats me. Maybe because you know, er, knew me, and I wouldn't scare you as much as a stranger. Or maybe just because of Nick. There's quite a few around that don't like him so much." "So what are you supposed to tell me?" Natalie pressed. "I mean, I *obviously* know that Nick's a vampire." "Yeah, the guy's a vampire! How come you never told me? Either of you! You know, he *was* my partner. I had a right to know!" Schanke complained. Nat shrugged. "Nick would have said, 'for your own good'. As for me, it was never my secret to tell." Schanke paused, then sighed. "Okay, okay. I've only got a few minutes, so I'd better talk fast, or you'll be left uninformed." He paused again, driving Natalie crazy. "What?!" she exploded. Schanke grinned at her. "Here goes. You're dead." >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> End of Part Two Kathleen Seibel kathline@v-wave.com also kseibel@usa.net Date: Mon, 28 Jul 1997 12:00:47 -0700 Reply-To: kathline@v-wave.com Sender: Forever Knight TV show stories From: Kathleen Seibel Subject: Dawn of Hope (3/4) To: FKFIC-L@psuvm.psu.edu See disclaimer in Part 1 DAWN OF HOPE PART 3 Natalie stared at Schanke in amazement. "You have *got* to be kidding," she said flatly. "My heart beats and my brain functions just as well, if not better than before. I get hungry and thirsty. I eat and drink. I can see and be seen by others. I can touch people and things. What do you mean I'm *dead*?!" As Natalie spoke, her voice rose in pitch, until, by the time she ran out of breath, she was almost shrieking. "Whoa, whoa, calm down," Schanke managed to get in before she began another tirade. "When I said that you were dead, I meant in the sense that, well, you died last night. There was no way to avoid it, unless, of course, you wanted to be brought across." "Then how do you explain the fact that I am walking, breathing, eating, and speaking, all apparently alive, Schanke?" Natalie demanded. "If you will let me finish," Schanke said pointedly, "I'll tell you." He stopped, and considered his next words with care. "Now, without getting into too much technical detail, you died last night, and continued on to the afterlife, where you were given three choices. And lemme tell ya, this is *very* unusual. Most people don't get a choice at all. A fortunate few are given two choices. And you are one of only two who have been given three choices, and before you ask, I can't tell you who the other one was." "Get on with it, Schanke. This is wasting time that, according to you, we don't have," Natalie prodded. Schanke cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Right, er, where was I? Oh, yeah...you were given three choices. Choice one was to die and pass on into the afterlife. Choice two was to come back as a vampire. You rejected both these choices. Choice three, the one you chose, was to come back, not as a vampire, but as something just as eternal, with its own special powers. Powers like you experienced last night, and some others you haven't discovered yet." "So what am I, Schanke?" Natalie asked wearily. "An angel, like you?" "No, you are Evil's Companion, or, I should say, Nick's Companion." "Nick isn't Evil," Natalie protested. "Well," Schanke pointed out, "he's not exactly what you'd call a saint. He may not be *entirely* evil, but he bears its stain on his soul. Until this stain is washed clean, he'll never be able to become mortal, or to join you in the afterlife, which is why you decided to come back and help him." "How am I supposed to help him?" Natalie questioned. "The two of you have been working on making him human again for years," Schanke pointed out. "Just think of this as continuing that. Once he has fully atoned for the sins he committed as a vampire, he will cease to *be* a vampire. By helping him to resist the temptation to give in to his vampiric nature, and by saving humans *and* vampires with the powers you now possess, you'll be helping him atone." "I don't understand," Natalie protested. "Save vampires? Humans I can understand. But why save vampires? And how can I atone for sins which *he* committed?" "Well, the way it works, see, is that by deciding to come back to him, you chose to take some of his sins onto yourself. You could think of it as sort of a marriage. Well, on his part at least. Your soul is your own, but you also share his soul," Schanke tried to explain. "And when someone...vampire or human...is about to be killed before their time, you'll hear a voice urging you to 'save' them. You should have heard that voice last night telling you to wake up." Natalie nodded. "Yes, I heard a voice last night telling me to 'wake up and pay attention'. You're telling me I'll hear this voice each time I'm supposed to help someone?" Schanke nodded, smiling. "That's it, exactly." "And this soul thing, it's as if I have two souls, mine and Nick's?" "No, it's more like you have your soul, which will record your deeds, both good and bad, and borrow part of Nick's, to let the lives you save using the powers you were given last night erase some of the sin recorded on his. Fortunately, any new sins he commits will not be recorded on your soul, and you won't be responsible for any sins left on his soul if he dies before his time." Schanke sighed heavily. "To tell you the truth, I don't understand it much myself." "Don't worry," Natalie comforted. "I think I understand enough. Whenever I hear that voice telling me to save somebody, I'll be helping Nick with his atonement." "Right," Schanke agreed. "That voice is your guide. It will be with you always until you return to mortality." "Wait a minute," Natalie protested. "You said I was 'eternal'. I took that to mean that I was immortal. You're telling me I'm not?" Schanke hurried to reassure her. "No, no, I just meant that when Nick becomes mortal again, so will you. Basically, the two of you will pick up your lives where you left off. You'll just be in a different time and place than if Nick had never become a vampire and you had never met him." Natalie tried to summarize, just to be sure she was clear on all the details. "Ok, so I'm immortal now, but not a vampire, which I assume means that I can still eat and drink and go out in the sun if I want." Schanke nodded. "Sure. In that respect, nothing has changed except that you will not die, no matter what happens. You can be burned alive, staked through the heart, shot, even decapitated, and you won't die. Because you're-" "Already dead, right?" Natalie still didn't really understand this. After all, how could a decapitated body remain alive? "But how is that type of immortality possible?" she demanded. Schanke rolled his eyes. "Nat, this is God we're talking about. He makes all things possible, remember? It just *is*, that's all. Accept it." "Okay," Natalie agreed, already thinking of tests she could perform. She was convinced it all could be explained by science. "Moving on. Now, along with immortality, I've been given certain powers, mostly mental, I guess, since that is what I used last night. I mean, I don't have super-strength or super-speed or anything like that, do I?" "Right. You're not a superhero, Nat, just a person with enhanced mental abilities," Schanke responded. "Who can't die," Natalie added. "And with these powers, I'm supposed to help people and vampires by saving their lives." "But only when your guide instructs you to. Otherwise, leave them - and God's plan - alone." "Now, Nick has an evil soul-" "No, no, no," Schanke interrupted impatiently. "Nick's soul isn't evil, his nature is evil. His soul reflects this by being stained by evil." "I don't understand," Natalie confessed. "Okay, picture a baseball." Natalie did so, closing her eyes. "It's new, white, unblemished. This is your soul. When you're born, it's pure, clean. As we grow, and sin, we pick up scrapes and stains, like a baseball that's used in a ball game. This is normal. When you ask for forgiveness, God wipes these stains and scrapes away and so you go out into the world again with a clean soul. "But Nick is a vampire. He can't do that. He turned his back on God by becoming a vampire, so he cannot just ask for forgiveness and have his sins wiped away. Instead, he's gotta pay back the moral debt he owes to society. Ten lives saved for every one taken. Good deeds for bad, right for wrong, etc. Once he has managed to atone for the sins he has committed as a vampire, he'll be judged." "Judged?" Natalie whispered. "You never mentioned this." "It's not so bad," Schanke told her. "You were judged. God's pretty forgiving...a lot more forgiving than you'd think. And He has a great sense of humor. I mean, who else would've made *me* an angel?" Natalie laughed in spite of herself. "Okay, go on. He'll be judged..." "And given a choice. To give up the vampire, or not. He has to choose whether to come back across, just as he chose to be brought across in the first place." Natalie nodded. This made sense, unfortunately. "What if he doesn't choose to come back across? What happens to him, not to mention to me? Do I still become mortal?" Schanke shrugged. "If Nick doesn't choose to come back to humanity, then he will continue his life as a vampire. You'll be given a choice of moving on into the afterlife, returning to your life as a mortal, or remaining eternal, but without your new powers, and also without sharing Nick's soul. But remember, his soul will be clean, so unless he commits any new sins which he doesn't atone for, he'll still be allowed to enter the afterlife. Heaven. Whatever you want to call it. The place where the good go when they die. The-" Natalie smiled, and reached for Schanke's hand before she realized she couldn't touch him. "I get it," she said. Schanke looked uncomfortably at her. "There's something else I've gotta tell you, and you're not going to like this." Natalie raised her eyebrow. "What else?" Schanke looked around the room, desperate to avoid Nat's eyes. "You have to stop trying to 'cure' him." Natalie just looked at him, puzzled. "You know, the blood thing? You've gotta let him drink it. He needs to atone *as* a vampire, and he can't do that if he's too weak. Blood is his food. It would be like asking someone who's used to eating three meals a day to suddenly live on...well, a protein shake. I mean, if you take away the blood, could *you* live on what he eats? Immortal or not, the guy's gotta have some way of staying strong and healthy." Natalie nodded glumly. She knew this was true. Vampires needed blood to build strength and regenerate. Depriving Nick of blood would not make him mortal, and might end up getting him killed by another vampire - or human - before he had wiped his soul clean. Which reminded her... "One last question?" she asked. Schanke was becoming less and less visible and, she deduced, this meant their time for discussion was growing short. "What if Nick dies, gets staked, for example, before he's had the chance to completely atone?" Schanke looked at her very seriously. "Well, Nat, it's up to you and me to make sure that doesn't happen, because if it does...Nick's soul doesn't stand a chance." Before Natalie could say another word, Schanke faded from sight completely and she knew she'd gotten all the information from him that she was going to get. *Now*, she thought glumly, *I've just got to come up with a way to explain this all to Nick*. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> End of Part Three Kathleen Seibel kathline@v-wave.com also kseibel@usa.net Date: Mon, 28 Jul 1997 12:00:52 -0700 Reply-To: kathline@v-wave.com Sender: Forever Knight TV show stories From: Kathleen Seibel Subject: Dawn of Hope (4/4) To: FKFIC-L@psuvm.psu.edu See disclaimer in part 1 DAWN OF HOPE PART 4 When Nick woke he went downstairs to find Natalie sitting at the table, staring at the surface. "Did you sleep well?" he asked pleasantly. Natalie jumped. "Oh, yes, I did." She stood, and walked over to him, then gave him a hug. She stepped back, and grinned. "Do you realize that you have no food in this place. Sydney and I are starving!" She heard scratching sounds from a distant corner. "And a litterbox might not be such a bad idea, either." "I'll get some food, and a litterbox, as soon as I've eaten myself," Nick promised. He hesitated by the door of the refrigerator before opening it and taking out a green bottle. He looked at Natalie. "I-" "It's okay," Natalie said, to his surprise. "In fact, it's a good idea." "Well, this is a switch," Nick commented. Natalie shrugged. "Sit down, Nick. There's something I have to talk to you about." "That's-" Nick began, after Natalie had finished telling him about her conversation with Schanke and her new mission in life. "That's-" "I know," Natalie agreed. "It's hard to believe, but it's true. Watch." Nick's bottle slowly slid across the table, apparently under its own power. Remembering the disaster with the mug, she stopped it well before it reached the edge. "I'll have to practice, probably a lot, but the powers are there." Nick wrapped his arms around Natalie, gathering her close. "That's great, Nat. I mean, I think it is. It's a lot to absorb. And it would be impossible to believe, except that you are here, right now, alive." Reluctantly, he released her. "Anything in particular you want me to pick up?" She shook her head. "Surprise me. Just don't forget the cat food." "Right," Nick promised. "Cat food is at the top of the list." After Nick had left, Natalie went back to the living room. Randomly choosing the TV remote, she concentrated. A few moments later she was rewarded by the sight of it flying through the air. She practiced, sending it left and right, up and down, faster and faster. She was starting to feel confident when a voice behind her made her lose her concentration, sending the remote crashing to the floor. "An interesting trick," LaCroix whispered. "But can it really help you to save him?" Natalie turned to face him, astonished. "Oh, yes, I know," he confirmed. "I know what you are and why you've been allowed to return. I've known since last night." He turned away from her and began to pace. "But tell me, doctor, do you really think you're strong enough - in the end - to save him from himself and from *me*?" He stared at the fireplace, noticing the ashes which were all that were left of the stake he'd almost killed his Nicholas with. With vampiric speed, he moved to stand right in front of her, crowding her, forcing her to step back. "You must know, I will be around, always tempting, always reminding him of what he is." LaCroix brushed his fingertips along her cheek. "Think of it, doctor, what would it be like for Nicholas to live as a vampire, knowing that his soul had been saved? Would he not find that irresistible, to have the best of both worlds? When the time comes for him to choose, do you *really* think he will choose you?" LaCroix asked. His tone was gentle, almost pitying. The winner consoling the loser before the game has begun. "Yes, I do. I believe our love will make him strong enough." she said firmly. "Nick wants to become human again, and this is his chance." "But how badly does he want it?" LaCroix asked. "And how strong is he? Is he strong enough to resist the temptation? He hasn't always resisted very well in the past, you know." "I'll be here," Natalie pointed out. "Sort of like Jiminy Cricket. I'll help him to stay strong and to resist both you and the lure of remaining a vampire." "And if, one day, you are not there?" LaCroix insisted. "I'll always be there," Natalie pledged. "That's why I came back. I can't believe I would have been given this opportunity, if there wasn't some hope for him." "Hope," LaCroix sneered. "Such a mortal word. Believe me, doctor, you will need more than *hope* to save him." He glanced at the cracked and broken television remote as it lay on the floor. "I just hope your help doesn't destroy him, as you've destroyed that." With those words, he was gone. Natalie stared after him. She picked up the broken remote and wondered if, one day, Nick would be this way, broken, because of her. She shook off the thought. LaCroix was wrong. Together, she and Nick would succeed. Their love was strong enough to withstand even LaCroix and his temptations. It wouldn't be easy, she knew, but they could do it. Sydney rubbed against her legs. Natalie stooped and stroked his back. She could hear Nick in the elevator, returning with their food. "Come on, Sydney. It's time to eat." The cat seemed to understand, and raced to the kitchen in anticipation. Nick entered, a large smile on his face. Natalie smiled back; life was good. The future was unknown, but hope beckoned like the dawn of a new day. Together, she and Nick could make their dream come true. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> The End Kathleen Seibel kathline@v-wave.com also kseibel@usa.net