Date: Tue, 21 May 1996 00:27:55 +0000
From: Lisa Wolters <redjasper@earthlink.net>
Subject: *LK SPOILERS*   First Night (1/1)

** This story contains LAST KNIGHT (and FRANCESCA) spoilers! **
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4th season
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4th season
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4th season
 
Can you guys stand yet another attempt to rewrite the ending?
Mine takes place immediately after the fade-out at the end of
the "real" LK.  And I haven't had a chance to read any of the
other LK stories yet due to the sheer *volume* of digests, so
I'm sorry if this is a "been there, done that better" idea. Please
send comments if you're not on FKFIC overload!
 
 
First Night (1/1)
by L.A. Wolters  (redjasper@earthlink.net)
 
 
He was still crying. The night nurse at a downtown Toronto
hospital gently scooped the tiny baby into her arms and tucked
the powder blue blanket around him.
   "Shhhh," she whispered, cradling him tenderly as she walked
the length of the dimly-lit nursery. The hospital's newest arrival
had such a red, angry, scrunched up little face. His tiny fists were
clenched so tightly that his knuckles were white. He continued to
wail. The nurse on the shift before hers had told her what a
difficult birth his was--how he almost hadn't been born at all.
With such a traumatic introduction to the world, it was no
wonder the little one was still upset.
   "It's okay, little man," the nurse soothed. "It's only your first
night; it'll get better. You've got a long life ahead of you. Don't
you know how lucky you are to be here?"
   And the baby quieted, blinking sleepily with cloudy crystal-blue
eyes. The nurse lost herself in those round, innocent eyes for a
second, then shook her head and smiled. "Think of all the wonderful
things you can do when you grow up," she told him softly. "The
people you'll meet, the places you'll go, the adventures you'll
have..."
   The baby grasped her finger reflexively and burbled at her. She
turned the ID tag on his tiny wrist.
   "Lucas," she read, and smiled again, running one hand over the
soft blonde fuzz on his head. "That's a good, strong name."
 
He was crying again. With an effort, she raised her hand to touch
his head on the pillow next to hers.
   "Shhhh. It's over now," she rasped weakly as she smoothed his
golden hair. He rolled over to face her.
   "I know," Nick whispered back, brushing his warm, tear-stained
cheek against hers. "I love you, Natalie." Carefully, he wrapped his
arms around her. "But I almost..."
   "You didn't," she reassured him. She placed her hand over his
rapidly beating heart. "And now look at us. But the next time
I pass out, we'd better <really> be making love. Deal?"
   He smiled at her, a small smile that grew in wonder at the
warmth of her words, at the love radiated in her eyes, at the
miracle of his
transformation.
   "Deal," he grinned. Then dark clouds dimmed the light in his blue
eyes. "I could have taken too much."  He brushed his fingertips along
the edge of the ugly wound at her throat, where the torn flesh was
still red and swollen.
   "You didn't. I told you Janette's cure was worth a shot." She
smiled and raised her eyebrows at him, trying to convey the idea of
a shrug without enduring the pain of having to move her shoulders
or neck just yet. "I'll be fine. It was all just a little too...intense to
handle all at once," she said carefully, then quickly added as she
saw fresh teardrops gather in the corners of his eys, "but it
happened for a reason, Nick. Somebody up there wanted me to play
possum long enough to stay alive. Long enough for you to free
yourself at last, to free us at last. I believe that," she nodded.
   "I, too, believe," Nick whispered fervently. "But I still...I still
wish..." He frowned and glanced away. "I meant what I said to him,
Nat. About him being my friend. God help me; I meant it."
   Natalie traced his jawline with her fingers. "Even when they're
trying to kill you, they're still your family," she said.
    His eyes met her in open wonder. "Yes," he breathed, then
swallowed hard. "He gave me no choice. I thought you were dead.
And he wouldn't grant my last wish, he wouldn't put an end to it. I
was furious, and the longer I waited, and the more he talked, the
more my fury rose. The strength came from beyond me. Wresting
that stake from him was the easiest thing I've ever done. But now..."
   "Now," Natalie stroked his face, wishing she was healed enough to
raise herself from her prone position and cradle him to her,
"the future is ours."
   "Yes." His voice trembled slightly as he gazed into her eyes. "From
this night forward."
 
*****