Date: Sat, 06 Dec 1997 15:42:31 -0800
From: "Nancy A. Taylor" <taylorln@OPEN.ORG>

This story was written to commemorate the first anniversary of my
posting to the fiction list.  When I wrote my first story a year
ago, I thought it might be my last.  Ha!  Some of you probably wish
it had been.  Too bad.  <big grin>  I'm back with more of Nick and
Nat and my precocious little Laurene.  I hope you will enjoy it.

I would like to dedicate this story to my best friend, Vickie
Sykes, who allowed me to spoil the whole thing for her by talking
it out.  If it hadn't been for her willingness to listen, this
probably wouldn't have come together.

I'd also like to thank my beta readers, Lynn Messing and Carla
Martinek, who both made sure I didn't contradict myself or say
anything stupid and for helping me mind my p's and q's.  What would
I do without them?

I give permission for this story to be archived to Mel's web site,
the FTP site and the Nick and Nat Pack fiction page.  It will also 
be available on my own fiction web page.

Disclaimer:  The characters of Nick and Co. are not mine.
They were created by J. Parriott and B. Cohen and are owned
by Sony/TriStar.  No copyright infringement was intended.
The character of Laurene is mine.


The Gift of Giving -- Part 1 of 2
by Nancy Taylor
(c) Dec. 6, 1997


     Opening the front door of his home, Nick stumbled into the
living room and flopped wearily onto the couch.  His head dropped
back against the cushions and he closed his eyes, trying to blot
out the memories.

     Natalie padded quietly in from the kitchen carrying a mug of
AB-positive and the bottle.  Sitting down next to Nick, she set her
burden on the coffee table and put her arms around her husband.
Twisting her fingers through his unruly blond hair, Natalie tried
to comfort him.  "Hard night, hmmm?" she began, looking with
sympathy at his troubled face, anxious even in repose.

     Nick opened his eyes and turned his head to gaze at Natalie.
"I never thought running the shelter would be harder than police
work," he sighed.  Nick closed his eyes again and laid his head on
Natalie's shoulder.

     "It's emotionally draining," Natalie commiserated.  "I know.
As the medical consultant there, I see the suffering too."  She
smiled encouragingly at Nick, stroking his temple gently and
soothingly with her thumb.  "What happened tonight?"

     "A woman came in needing someplace safe to stay.  She was
bruised and bleeding from a beating her husband gave her because he
didn't like the damn meatloaf she made for dinner!" Nick spat the
words with vehemence, his eyes edged with gold at the memory.  "She
had three babies in tow, none over the age of three-and-a-half.
The kids ... the kids had bruises too...."  Nick's voice trailed
off, the images still whirling in his mind.

     When Nick had moved his family to Montreal a mere eleven
months ago, he had decided to leave police work for another, safer,
job where he could still make a difference in people's lives.
Using money from the Nicholas de Brabant Foundation, he chose to
set up, finance and direct a shelter for homeless and abused women
and their children.  In no way had he realized the emotional drain
involved with the day to day running of such a safe house.  Still,
Nick continued his nightly hands-on involvement with the women and
their children.  Especially the children.  Their plight tore at his
heart as he thought of how much his own daughter had compared to
these small waifs.

     Natalie had given up forensic medicine to take up the life of
a family practitioner.  It felt good to be working with the living
again.  To help Nick, she conducted free clinics at the shelter
once a week.  The pain, suffering and fear Natalie encountered
there was astounding.  Her visits helped to alleviate these women's
physical pain, as Nick's presence did much to alleviate their
psychological pain. 

     Natalie found herself continually amazed by her husband.  Here
was a man who still felt, despite her admonitions to the contrary,
that he had no soul, who drank human blood for sustenance, yet was
so warm and caring that women who had lived with the true monsters
of this world trusted him completely.

     Picking the mug up from the coffee table, Natalie pressed it
into Nick's hands.  "Here, drink up.  When you're finished come to
bed and we'll talk."  Natalie unwound herself from her position on
the couch and patted Nick on the thigh.  Rising, she turned to walk
toward their bedroom, glancing over her shoulder to see Nick's
reaction.

     Tossing back the contents of his mug, Nick picked up the
bottle and followed Natalie into their bedroom.  He sat down on the
edge of the bed, watching Natalie undress and sipping morosely from
the contents of the green bottle.  "Christmas," he muttered,
dropping his head to stare at his shoes.

     "What...?" Natalie asked, turning to inspect Nick.

     "Huh?"  Nick looked up, startled out of his introspection.  "I
was just thinking about Christmas," he answered Natalie's
questioning look.  "You know, we have so much, and those poor women
and kids ... they have nothing."

     "I wouldn't say that," Natalie argued, sitting down on the bed
next to Nick.  "They have a warm, safe place to stay.  I'll bet
they're feeling pretty lucky right now."

     "But the kids," Nick continued, "the kids need Christmas.
They need a tree, a special dinner, they need ... more than what
they've got!

     "Then let's give it to them," Natalie said, her face lighting
up with the possibilities.

     "Nat, it's Christmas Eve....  It's too late to plan a party."

     "It's Christmas Eve *morning*, Nick!  There's plenty of time.
Just leave it up to me, okay?"

     "If you say so," Nick replied with a sigh.  

     Natalie pulled the bottle from Nick's hand and set it firmly
on the nightstand, determined to cheer Nick up if it took all day.
Placing the palms of her hands flat against Nick's chest, she
pushed him down on the bed and began smothering him with kisses.
"I say so," she mumbled, briefly coming up for air.  Reaching down,
Natalie unfastened the buckle of Nick's belt and pulled the zipper
open, tugging his jeans down past his hips.  

     Nick wrapped his arms around Natalie, rolling her over and
kicking his jeans off in the process.  A part of Nick's mind
briefly noted that Natalie had a wickedly wonderful way of
diverting his attention away from his brooding.  Lost in the
welling of lust, Nick temporarily allowed himself to forget the
night's problems as he concentrated his attentions on the beautiful
woman who had so successfully seduced him.

     When Nick finally awoke early in the evening, he found himself
alone in bed, the rumpled sheets mute testimony of their
lovemaking.  Natalie had risen much earlier to go shopping and get
things started over at the shelter.  

     Slipping on his robe, Nick walked out to the living room where
their large Christmas tree glowed warmly in a darkened corner of
the room.  The sight of their daughter, Laurene, lit by the
sparkling lights, renewed Nick's spirit.  He smiled.



     Laurene Victoria Chevalier did not believe in Santa Claus.  At
the ripe old age of eight-and-three-quarters, she had put aside her
belief in jolly old elves and flying reindeer.  With the twinkling
lights of the large Noble fir reflecting in her eyes, Laurene sat
back on her haunches to admire the pile of presents tumbling from
beneath the tree.  It was oh-so-hard to wait until Christmas
morning to open the packages; but her parents insisted, so Laurene
just sat and stared in wonder at the bounty.

     "Penny for your thoughts."  Nick walked over and sat down next
to his daughter in front of the tree, gathering her into his lap.

     Laurene leaned against her father's shoulder and tilted her
head to look up into his face.  She frowned slightly as she said,
"I miss my friends, Daddy."

     Nick felt the words stab at his heart like a knife.  It was
never easy to move on to a new life, and this was the first time
Nick had ever tried it with a family.  Their move to Montreal had
gone smoothly enough, but it had taken Laurene a long time to
adjust to a new name and new friends in a strange new city.  Their
infrequent trips back to Toronto to visit friends had done nothing
to assuage Laurene's loneliness.

     "I know you do, sweetheart," Nick reassured her, hugging
Laurene closer and tangling his fingers in her golden curls.  "It's
especially hard at Christmas when we can't be with those we love
the most."  Nick's mind wandered briefly to thoughts of Don Schanke
and his family, all of whom now knew his secret and had still
welcomed him as part of their family.  Friendships like that were
rare and very hard to leave behind.  "It gets better, though," he
tried to assure his daughter.  "It helps if you can keep busy.  How
would you like to come down to the shelter and help out with the
Christmas party?"  Nick felt suddenly inspired.  What better way to
get Laurene to stop feeling sorry for herself than to see those
less fortunate?

     "Okay, Daddy," Laurene agreed, a smile spreading across her
cherubic features.  Squirming to loosen Nick's hold, Laurene
climbed from the comfort of her father's lap and ran from the room
to get dressed.

     Standing up, Nick watched Laurene running across the hardwood
floors in her stocking feet.  The sight brought a smile to his lips
as Laurene would run and slide, run and slide, on her way back to
her room.  Just as Laurene's bedroom door slammed shut, the phone
rang.

     "Hello?" Nick answered.

     "Are you coming or are you sleeping in all evening?" Natalie's
voice teased at the other end of the connection.

     "We're on our way," Nick assured her.  "I'm bringing Laurene
with me."

     "Sounds great!" Natalie enthused.  Nick could hear the
clanging of pots and pans in the background and knew that Natalie
had the Christmas meal well underway.  "Ah, Nick ... could you pick
up a tree on your way over?  I didn't have time to stop after the
grocery shopping if we were going to get dinner ready on time.

     "Sure, no problem," Nick replied, smiling at the thought of
Natalie directing the small army of kitchen workers.  "We'll pick
up a tree on our way over." 

     "Terrific! Hey, gotta go," Natalie yelled over the increasing
din in the kitchen.  "See you soon!"

     "Love you ... bye."  Nick smiled as he hung up the receiver.
What a madhouse this was going to be!  Just what Laurene needed to
get her mind off her loneliness.  Nick hurried to the bedroom to
get dressed.


The Gift of Giving -- Part 2 of 2

     Nick and Laurene finally arrived, dragging a large Douglas fir
behind them.  The shelter's many children sat in the common room,
gaily untangling long strings of lights and sorting through the
brightly colored ornaments.  Natalie had seen to it that they also
had a large bowl of popcorn and some cranberries to string for
decoration.  The younger children, who couldn't be trusted with the
needles to string the popcorn, busily cut paper snowflakes to adorn
the shelter's windows and the branches of the Christmas tree.

     Nick set the tree in a corner of the large room and proceeded
to string up the lights that the children handed to him.  Once he
was finished, Nick stepped back and watched as the eager children
decorated the tree with an eclectic assortment of homemade and
store-bought ornaments.  Nick took turns lifting the smallest of
the children so they could get the decorations to the very top of
the tree.  Laurene took the honor of placing the sparkling silver
star on the very top branch.

     "The children are ready to light the tree," Nick announced,
poking his head through the kitchen doorway. 

     Smiling, the women doffed their aprons and walked into the
common room, admiring the children's handiwork.  When everyone was
gathered, Nick plugged in the lights.  The tree shone with glory
and drew more than a few awed gasps of appreciation from the
assembled audience.  After hugging and congratulating the children
on a job well done, the women retired back to the kitchen to put
the finishing touches on the holiday meal.

     Anna, the woman Nick had spoken to Natalie about earlier,
quietly approached Nick and placed a timid hand on his shoulder.
"This is a wonderful thing you are doing," she said softly.  "I was
afraid we wouldn't have a Christmas this year."  Wiping a tear from
the corner of her eye, Anna disappeared quickly back into the
kitchen before Nick could reply.

     "Dinner's ready!" Natalie called from the dining room a few
minutes later.  Anna and the other women helped Natalie bring the
food out to the long dining table which was decorated with holly
and candles, looking quite festive sporting the Chevaliers' fine
china and silver for the occasion.

     With a scraping of chairs, everyone sat and joined hands,
forming a link around the table.  Natalie began the prayer and each
woman and child in turn added their thanks to the growing litany.
When the prayer reached Nick, Natalie glanced up and smiled.
Despite doing God's work night in and night out, Nick still did not
acknowledge that his soul had been saved.  Praying was still a
difficult thing for him and something Nick generally tried to
avoid.  This night, however, was different.  

     With barely a pause, Nick acknowledged, "I am thankful, daily,
for my wife, Natalie.  She has stood by me and supported me,
believing in me even when I didn't believe in myself.  And I'm
thankful for my daughter, Laurene, who is the walking
personification of love.  Never has God put a brighter light on
this earth."

     "Amen," Natalie whispered. 
 
     "Amen," came the echo from around the table.

     Sitting at the head of the table, it was Nick's duty to carve
the large goose, which had been roasted so lovingly all day long by
the assembled women.  The table was crowded with food; a ham,
mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, cranberries, sweet potatoes with
mini marshmallows, and much more ... all with pumpkin and mincemeat
pies waiting for dessert.  Even Nick put food on his plate, taking
a few small bites of the least offensive morsels and pushing the
rest around as he kept up a lively conversation with the women and
their children.

     When dinner was finally finished, everyone gathered around the
Christmas tree to sing carols.  Standing near the back of the
assembled crowd, Laurene looked sadly at the emptiness under the
tree and thought about the overflow of bounty under her own tree at
home.  Looking around at the assembled children, Laurene saw that
while they were all clean and neat, their clothes were worn and
there were few toys of any kind.  Tiptoeing around the outer edges
of the group, Laurene found her father and tapped him on the
shoulder.

     "Hi, Pumpkin.  What's up?" Nick whispered, turning to see his
daughter standing behind him.

     "They need presents, Daddy," Laurene whispered back in hushed
tones.  "They don't have any toys and they need new clothes."

     "I know, honey, but it's too late to do anything about that
now," Nick told his daughter.  Laurene's face fell momentarily,
then lit up as bright as a candle in a dark room.

     "We can go get *our* presents to give to them!" Laurene crowed
with excitement.  "We have so much!"

     "Laurene, honey," Nick started, crouching down to his
daughter's level and holding her gently by the shoulders, "if we do
that, then you won't have any presents to open on Christmas
morning."

     "I know," Laurene replied thoughtfully, "but that's okay.  I
already have lots of stuff.  I can wait until my birthday."

     She looked so sincere, so serious, that Nick had to smile.
"Let's go talk to your Mum," he said.  

     Navigating over to where Natalie was standing, Nick slid his
arm around her waist and whispered in her ear.  "Our daughter has a
proposition for you."

     "A proposition, huh?" Natalie smiled, looking down at Laurene.
"What have you got up your sleeve this time?"

     "I want us to give all our presents to the moms and kids here
at the shelter," Laurene stated matter-of-factly.  

     Natalie paused in surprise.  "Are you sure?" she queried.

     "Yes, Mum.  Can we ... *please*?" Laurene begged.

     Natalie smiled and nodded.  "I think that would be wonderful,
sweetie."  She looked up at Nick.  "Why don't you two go and I'll
keep things together here?"

     "Sounds good to me," Nick smiled.  Taking Laurene's hand and
quietly exiting the common room, they headed for home.



     The evening was winding down, and the children had all been
sent to put on their pajamas while their mothers and Natalie
cleaned up the dishes and put away the leftovers.  With the work
finally done, a peaceful quiet descended on the shelter as the
tired women sank onto couches and into chairs to chat amiably
before heading off to bed.

     Just when the quiet seemed complete, the front door opened
with a jingling of bells and in walked Laurene dragging a wagon
load of packages.  Nick followed close behind, nearly hidden
underneath the burden of the large box he carried.
 
     Setting the box down in front of the tree, Nick straightened
and smiled at Natalie.  "Santa has arrived," he quipped.  

     Natalie and Laurene began unloading the wagon and box, putting
the freshly re-tagged gifts under the tree.  The women gathered
around in curiosity and were soon joined by the children, who had
come to see what all the commotion was about.  What they found was
a tree nearly exploding with brightly wrapped packages.

     "Merry Christmas!" Laurene shouted.

     Giggling with excitement, the children surrounded the tree,
checking the name tags and handing out the presents.  Everyone had
at least one package to open and the children each had several.
The pandemonium that ensued was comical.  Laurene laughed and
clapped her hands with glee to see all the happiness her gesture
brought that night.



     Opening the front door of their home just before sunrise on
Christmas morning, Nick and his family stumbled into the house,
exhaustion covering them like a blanket.  The glittering lights of
the Christmas tree drew them despite their weariness.

     "It looks so lonely," Laurene noted, walking over and sitting
down on the empty tree skirt.  Nick and Natalie walked over and sat
to either side of their daughter.

     "Are you having second thoughts about giving your gifts away?"
Natalie asked, smoothing a stray strand of hair away from Laurene's
forehead.

     "Noooo, not really," Laurene sniffed.  "I can wait until my
birthday.  It's only a month away."  She was trying very hard to be
brave, but even though she was thrilled to have made so many happy,
there was still a little empty place in her heart.

     "Well, sweetie, I still have one gift left to give."  Natalie
smiled at Laurene and then looked up to see Nick eyeing her
quizzically.

     "What do you mean, Nat?  We gave all our gifts to the
shelter," Nick said, curiosity boiling up inside him.

     "Not quite *all*," Natalie smiled back.  The golden lights of
the Christmas tree made Natalie's auburn hair glow like a halo.
"I'm pregnant...."

****Finis****

Nancy       TaylorLN@open.org  
     @>}---}----}----------
Knightie/N&NPack/FKXS/GWDFC/FMFC/Bat Mom ^^v^^
Official KtK Cheerleader!!    http://jessica.simplenet.com/ktk
Visit my FK page at:  http://www.open.org/taylorln/fk.htm