***************************************************
 Webmistress Note:  This story contains some adult 
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Date: Mon, 22 Dec 1997 14:35:54 -0600
To: fkarchiver@fkfanfic.com
From: CLone Star Software <cstar@pdq.net>
Subject: In All Ways, One (Part 1/20)

Hi! I'm back again. This is the fourth installment of the series I started
with "Forever is Ours".  If you have not read that story or the two which
followed it, "Night Terrors", and "Discoveries and Deceptions", you can
find them at Mel's FKFANFIC sight at http:/www.fkfanfic.com. While they
will provide a good deal of background information, I think that this story
will also stand on its own.  PLEASE NOTE: THESE STORIES ALL CONTAIN ADULT
MATERIAL OF A SEXUAL NATURE.

As with the previous stories, "In All Ways, One" will be posted to both the
regular and adult settings of FKFIC-L and to both the N&NPackers list and
Endlessknight list. If you are only subscribed to FKFIC-L and are not set
to adult settings, you will only receive the PG version of this story.  If
you subscribe to only the N&NPacker list you, too, will receive only the PG
version. If you are over 18, but not set to adult on FKFIC-L or subscribed
to Endlessknight and want the adult versions, SEND ME AN AGE STATEMENT and
I will send the Adult parts to you. For those of you who are on all the
above lists, boy are you going to get tired of seeing these posts <G>

Disclaimer:  As always, the concept of FK, as well as Nick, Nat, and all the 
others, belongs to Sony, James Parriot, Paragon, and the rest of TPTB not to 
me.  I am only borrowing them for a while and I have no intention of making 
any type of profit from them.  All new characters are mine.  Permission to 
archive this story is granted. 

THIS IS THE ADULT VERSION

In All Ways, One (Part 1a/20)
by Nightlady
(c) 1997



(Christmas Night)


Sometime since the sun had set, it had started snowing.  Large, lazy flakes
drifted past the windows, silently accumulating on the outside sills.
Inside the brick building, the couple, snuggled on the couch, listened to
the final strains of a Vivaldi violin concerto and watched the snowflakes
reflecting the multicolored lights of the Christmas tree. Though the night
outside might be bitterly cold, they were warmed, not only by the heat from
the fireplace; but by an inner warmth that came from the intensity of the
love between them.

'I have never know more happiness than I have right now.' Natalie thought
to herself. She smiled slightly as she felt the weight of the ruby ring
that she wore.  The ring had once belonged to Nick's mother and earlier
this evening he had given to her.  Turning slightly, Nat looked at the man
she had agreed to marry. For the first time in the six years she had known
him, he looked at peace with himself.  Raising her hand she caressed his
face. He caught her hand with his own and pressed a kiss into its palm.  As
always, the feel of his lips against her skin sent a shiver of pleasure
down Nat's spine.

"Mmmm, I could stay like this forever," she whispered as she met his gaze
with her own.

Nick pulled her closer to him. He slipped his hand inside her robe, gently
caressing her breast.  "I was just thinking how right this feels and how
happy I feel."

Nat laid her head on his shoulder, "Me too. Especially what you're doing
now," she teased.

Nick laughed. "Does it?  How about this?"  He covered her lips with his
own, delighting in the way she met his questing tongue with her own. He
allowed his hands to roam farther along her body, savoring the feel of her
warm, soft flesh. No one, in all of his existence, had ever fulfilled him
the way Natalie did. He had loved Janette, and in a way would always love
her, but in all their time together Nick had never felt the sense of
completeness that he did with Nat. With Nat there was far more than a
physical attraction, there was the sense that she was the other half of
him.  Breaking the kiss for a moment Nick looked into her eyes. "You are my
existence, Nat and I will never allow anyone or thing to come between us."
He heard his voice break slightly with the depth of his emotion, and the
love he saw in her eyes fired the desire in him.

"Nick..." she whispered hoarsely, and pulled his lips back to her own.
Nick felt the answering desire in her both from her actions and in the link
between them that was growing stronger with each passing day.  No longer
afraid that he would accidentally harm her, Nick gave into his need for her
and concentrated on the woman he loved.

Natalie gasped as she felt Nick's skillful hands on her.  The caress of his
mouth as he kissed her added to her joy. For six long years she had craved
his touch, and now she found to her slight embarrassment, she seemed unable
to get enough of it.  She could tell from his breathing that he had allowed
himself to release his beast.  She looked at his now golden eyes, and
rejoiced that he could experience to the fullest their lovemaking. She
loved the way his fangs, gliding ever so lightly across her skin, made her
tingle with anticipation of the ecstasy she knew would come at their mutual
climaxes. As Nick's hands slowly removed the robe and thin nightgown she
wore beneath it, Nat writhed in pleasure as he traced the path of newly
exposed skin with his mouth. When he took one of her breasts in his mouth,
a groan of excitement escaped her and she turned slightly in his arms,
enabling her to reach beneath the silk fabric of Nick's pajama bottoms and
enclose his manhood with her hand.  Feeling the ripple of his muscles as he
reacted to her touch Nat smiled and began to slowly stroke his engorged
member.

Nick closed his eyes, as he enjoyed not only the warmth of Nat's hand on
him, but the feel and taste of her skin as he played with her breasts.  The
scent that was uniquely Natalie filled his nostrils and his desire to taste
of her blood, to know her entirely, grew and enflamed his own passion.  At
last releasing her breasts, he lifted her briefly into his arms before
laying her back on the couch. Looking at her face, flushed with passion,
Nick knew he had never seen any woman as beautiful.  Slipping out of the
pajama bottoms, he stood for a moment admiring the perfection of her body.  

Even though they had made love only a few hours earlier, their need for one
another was as strong as if they had been apart for years. As Nat lay back
upon the couch, her legs slightly parted in welcome, her hair cascading
around her head, she gazed up into Nick's eyes.  Smiling, she raised her
hand to him.

"Nick, please, I need to feel you inside me." Her voice was husky with desire.

Nick eased himself between her warm, smooth legs. Lifting her hips, he slid
into the moist heat of her core, relishing the feeling as she pushed toward
him, taking him fully inside her.  He heard the increase in her heart rate
as he slowly began to move inside her. Covering her with his body, he felt
her mold herself against him as her mouth sought his.  The feel of her
tongue as ran it across his sensitive fangs nearly drove him into a frenzy
of ecstasy and he met her tongue with his own.

Nat trembled as the first waves of pleasure flowed through her and she
could feel Nick tremble as he too built toward his own release.  Arching
against him, she ran her hands along the strong muscles of his back and
down along his buttocks and thighs.  She could feel his hardness filling
her and she tightened her own muscles upon it.  Her breathing became ragged
as Nick kissed first the curve of her jaw and then the nearly healed wounds
on her throat. She heard him whisper her name. "My love," she murmured into
his ear. Gently he turned her head enabling him to nuzzle the other side of
her neck. As Nat reached the peak of her pleasure and felt her climax rock
her body, Nick nipped the still new wounds of their prior lovemaking and
allowed the taste of her blood, rich with her feelings of love for him and
her own physical release, trigger his own explosive orgasm. Holding himself
deep within her he felt the pulsating pleasure of his release. Through her
blood and the psychic bond that was now between them, Nick experienced her
contentment and joy in their union.  

Still inside her, he shifted slightly to remove his weight from her.
Stroking her hair, Nick saw flickers of gold deep within Nat's blue eyes.
He knew that the gold was fading from his own eyes, as for now, both his
beast and the man were sated.   

"Penny for your thoughts." Nat said as she snuggled into his embrace.

Nick laughed softly. "I was thinking that doing this with you forever
sounds like a very nice future."  He kissed her gently on the forehead. 

Nat smiled, "I certainly like that idea. Eternity spent making love with
you...Yes, I very much like that idea."  Gazing into his eyes she
continued. "I wasted so much time trying to deny what I felt for you,
building walls between us, when all I needed to do was accept what my heart
was telling me."

"We both did Nat.  I was afraid that my love would destroy you.  That if I
didn't kill you, I would be forced to make you what I am and, if that
happened, you would hate me for all eternity." Nick closed his eyes for a
moment at memory of that possibility.  Opening them he continued. "Either
way, I would have lost you and that thought was unbearable." 

Nat saw the haunted look in Nick's eyes. "Well, I am still very much
alive." She said stroking his cheek and snuggling closer.  As her stomach
growled, she giggled. "And apparently still quite mortal." 

Nick smiled back at her.  "As nice as this is, I guess we really should
think about getting dressed and getting some nourishment into both of us."
He reluctantly released his hold on her.

"Yeah, I guess that would be a good idea, but only if you promise to hold
me later when we go to sleep."  Nat rose from the couch, and picking up her
discarded robe and gown, headed toward the stairs.

"I wouldn't have it any other way." Nick said, joining her.


As Nat finished washing the dishes from her meal, she glanced at her watch.
 Noting that it was nearly 11pm, she laughingly said to Nick, "No wonder I
was so hungry. I'm not used to being up for close to five hours before I
have breakfast." She flashed him a wicked grin of pure happiness, "Or to
making love twice in those five hours...but I think I can get used to THAT
very quickly."

Nick laughed back, "Good, I plan to hold you to that."  He encircled her
waist with his arm as they made their way back to the living area.  "So,
what do you think Grace will say when she sees this."  Nick indicated the
ring on Nat's hand.

"Oh boy, she is going to be thrilled." Nat replied. "You know she's been
playing matchmaker for years now." Nat shook her head as she considered
what her friend's reaction would most likely be.  Nat sobered for a minute
as she thought of how happy Richard would have been to know that his big
sister was getting married.

Nick noticed the look of sadness that crossed her face.  He knew her well
enough to know that she had to be thinking of her brother. " You know, it's
only 8pm in Vancouver.  Why don't you call your sister-in-law and wish her
Merry Christmas?"

Nat looked up at Nick. Hugging him, she said, "Just another reason I love
you. You always seem to know what will make me feel better."  She felt
Nick's arms tighten around her in return and allowed herself to relax in
his strong embrace.

Picking up the phone, she dialed Sara's number.

End Part 1a, continued in Part 2

All comments to: cstar@pdq.net

Date: Mon, 22 Dec 1997 14:37:18 -0600
To: fkarchiver@fkfanfic.com
From: CLone Star Software <cstar@pdq.net>
Subject: In All Ways, One (Part 2/20)

Disclaimers: Please See Part 1

In All Ways, One (Part 2/20)
by Nightlady
(c) 1997

"Hello?"

"Hi, Sara. It's Nat. Merry Christmas!"

"Nat!!" Oh, I'm so glad you called. Merry Christmas to you, too.  How are
you? Is everything going well for you?"

Nat laughed, "I'm fine and everything is going wonderfully. How are you and
Amy?"

"We're doing well. Amy is growing up so fast. She reminds me more of
Richard every day. You won't recognize her, she's gotten so big."

"Send pictures!"

Sara laughed, "I will.  So, what's new? Are you still seeing that good
looking detective?"

"Yes, I'm still seeing Nick."  Nat glanced up at him, knowing that he could
easily hear both sides of the conversation. "As a matter of fact, I'm going
to be seeing a lot more of him."  Nat smiled at Nick as she added, "We're
getting married."

"Ohmygosh! Nat!  That's wonderful!" Sara exclaimed loudly enough that Nick
would have heard her even without vampire enhanced senses. "When's the
wedding? Have you set the date yet?" Sara continued.

"No, we haven't set a date, but it's only been a little over five hours
since he proposed." Nat said, her voice filled with happiness. "Soon
though, I don't think either one of us wants to have a long engagement."
Looking at Nick she saw him nod in agreement.

"Five hours?  Is Nick there with you?" 

"Uh, yes, I'm calling from the loft."

"Would you mind putting him on the line for just a minute? I'd like to
congratulate him too."

"Sure, Sara, hold on."  Covering the mouthpiece with her hand, Nat turned
to Nick. "Do you mind?"

"Not at all," he said reaching for the phone. "I think I deserve
congratulations too, don't you?" He teased.

Eyes sparkling, Nat teased back.  "Well...I guess so." She handed him the
phone.

"Hello, Sara. Merry Christmas."

"Hello, Nick. Merry Christmas to you and congratulations. Natalie is a very
special person. You're lucky to be marrying her." The affection Sara felt
for her sister-in-law was evident in her voice.

"Thank you, Sara.  I agree, she is special and I am more than lucky to have
found her." Nick's gaze never left Nat's face as he spoke. "I'm looking
forward to seeing you again."

There was a pause on the other end of the line, and then Sara spoke. "Nick,
I want to be at the wedding, but I'm not sure I'll be able to manage it." 

Nick could hear the longing in Sara's voice. "We won't take any excuses,
Sara. As soon as we set the date I'll send plane tickets for you and Amy."
Sara started to protest, but Nick gently cut her off. " I want it to be the
happiest day of Nat's life," he said. "It won't be that if you and Amy are
not here to share it with us."

"Thanks, Nick. Sounds to me like Natalie's getting a pretty special person
too. We'll be there." Sara said happily.

"Great. I'll let you talk to Nat now. See you soon."

 As he handed the phone back to her, Nat smiled at him. Taking the phone,
she leaned against him and took his hand in her free one. Nick kissed the
top of her head as he put his arm around her shoulders.

'I'm back, Sara," Nat said.

"Nat, I hope it's not going to be too much of a burden for Nick to pay for
two plane tickets. If it is, I can probably arrange for Amy to stay with a
friend while I'm away."  

Nat thought of the little she knew of Nick's considerable wealth.  "Trust
me Sara, two tickets won't be a problem.  You can stay at my place, so it
won't cost you anything for a motel."

"Nat, Amy is going to go nuts with excitement when she hears about this." Sara
sounded like the lighthearted young woman she had been before the tragic
events of four years ago. "Thank Nick again for me, will you?  There's no
way we could have afforded to come without his help."

"I will. Where is Amy? I had hoped to talk to her."

"She's next door visiting her friend and comparing presents."  Sara said
laughing.  "She's going to be so disappointed when she finds out she missed
your call."

"Tell her not to feel too badly.  I'll be calling again soon with the date
and then she'll be coming here!"  Nat could feel her own excitement
building.  She hadn't seen her sister-in-law and niece since Richard's
death and looked forward to seeing them under much more pleasant conditions.

"I'll tell her but she's still going to be sorry she missed your call."
Sara paused.  "Nat, I'm so happy for you.  I know Richard would be too."

"Yeah, I think he would," Nat replied.  "Sara, I never thought I could be
this happy."

"You deserve it. Nat, I've got to go. Call me as soon as you have a date set."

"I will, Sara. Bye."

Nick took the phone from Nat and placed it back on the table beside him.
For several minutes neither he nor Nat spoke, content just to enjoy being
together. 


It was just past dawn when Nick carried a sleeping Nat up the stairs and
laid her gently in the bed.  They had decided on March 7 as the wedding
date.  That would allow time to make all of the needed arrangements, but
was not too far away.  Later, they'd snuggled on the couch and watched a
couple of old movies.  As often happened, Nat had fallen asleep during the
last one. Always before, afraid of harming her, Nick had covered her and
left her sleeping on the couch while he sought his bed to lie sleepless,
aching for the feel of her in his arms.   With that no longer a concern,
Nick smiled as he slipped into the bed next to her. As Nat stirred slightly
in her sleep and snuggled up against him, Nick's last thought as sleep
claimed him was that this arrangement was infinitely more to his liking.


Natalie brushed the snow from her coat as she hurried into the warmth of
the building that housed her offices. Just inside the door, she turned and
waved as Nick pulled the Caddy away from the curb.  The snow, which had
begun so gently the night before, had turned into a full-blown blizzard.
Nick had taken one look at the weather and insisted that she ride to work
with him.  A smile spread over Nat's face as she recalled how he had put an
end to her protest that she could drive herself to work.  She could still
feel his touch, as he cradled her face in his hands.

"Please, Nat," he had said, "the Caddy is heavier than your car and will be
easier to handle in this weather.  I'll know that you are safely at work,
and won't worry all shift about you."  He'd paused and then continued with
a grin.  "Besides, you have to admit that I have had a few more years of
driving experience than you have."  

She had laughed and agreed with him, realizing that even though it would
mean having to arrive an hour before she was due for her shift, it felt
very good to have someone wanting to take care of her for a change.  The
kiss that followed her agreement did nothing to lessen this feeling. 
                                                           
 Now inside, the familiar odors of formaldehyde, blood, and industrial
strength disinfectant assailed her nostrils.  Barely detectable beneath all
of these was the odor of death. Usually, she did not even notice the
accustomed odors, but having been away for several days the contrast of it
with the crisp, snow-filled air outside caused her to wrinkle her nose.   
 
Moving down the hall, Nat nodded greetings to several of the technicians
and other personal that she passed. Reaching her office, Nat went in and,
seeing the pile of paperwork on her desk, groaned.  'I should have had Nick
bring me in two hours early.' She thought shaking her head. 'I forgot how
fast this stuff piles up.'  Hanging up her coat, Nat sat down and reached
for the first folder.

Just over an hour later, Nat laid down the latest folder and stretched.
She had made a sizable dent in the pile of work and, if the snow kept the
criminals indoors, she might manage to get most of it done tonight.  She
had just gotten up and headed for the coffeepot when Grace stuck her head
in the doorway.  

"Natalie!  I didn't know you were here!" Grace exclaimed as she wrapped Nat
in a hug. "I didn't see your car outside, but with all this snow I might
not have recognized it."

Nat returned the hug. "I didn't drive tonight. I caught a ride with Nick."
She laughed at Grace's very pleased expression.  

"Lucky you!  I wouldn't mind having someone like that play chauffeur for
me." Grace teased.  "You know, if you ever get tired of Nick, do me a favor
and point him in my direction."

"I'll remember that," Nat replied with a grin, "but don't hold your breath
waiting for it to happen."

Grace smiled at her. "Good, sounds like the two of you may finally be
coming to your senses and realizing what the rest of us have known for years."

"Oh, and that is?"

"That the two of you belong together." Grace eyed Nat thoughtfully.  "Um,
where did you spend Christmas? I called your place twice yesterday and got
your machine both times."  As she saw the faint blush spread across
Natalie's face, Grace raised both eyebrows. "Have you been home since that
incident with Roberts?"

"Well, not really.  I did go by to collect some clothes and Sidney, but
yes, I've been staying with Nick."  Nat said.

"And did you have a nice Christmas?" Grace asked hopefully.

"Extremely nice." 

"I see.  Are you going to tell me what Santa brought you, or do I have to
threaten you with more paperwork to get it out of you?"  Grace's eyes were
sparkling with merriment.

"Oh, lots of nice things." Nat saw the look in Grace's eyes and quickly
continued. "But to answer your question, Nick gave me a lovely silk blouse." 

"Well, I guess that is a step up from flowers." Grace said. looking
slightly disappointed.

Deciding to have pity on her good friend, Nat held out her left hand, where
the ruby and gold ring seemed to almost glow on her third finger. "He also
gave me this."

Grace's eyes grew wide as she saw the ring. "Please tell me that you are
wearing on that finger for the reason I hope you are.  Don't say that it's
the only finger it'll fit."  She looked at Nat, scarcely breathing as she
awaited an answer.

Happiness clear in her voice, Nat answered. "Yes, Grace. Nick asked me to
marry him and...I agreed."

"How wonderful!  I can hardly believe it!" Grace again hugged Nat. "I just
know that the two of you are going to have a perfect marriage."

"Thanks, Grace," Nat said, "I think we will."

"So when's the wedding? Please don't tell me that you are waiting a year or
two."

"Nope, we've waited enough already." Nat said with a grin. "We are trying
for March 7, if we can get the arrangements made."

Grace nodded as she again looked at the ring. "I'm sure that everything
will work out." She chuckled, "Leave it to Nick to find an unusual,
gorgeous ring like this for you.  I don't think I've ever seen a stone that
seemed to have so much inner fire."

Nat gazed at the ring with pride. "It's sort of a family heirloom," she
explained. "It was Nick's mother's engagement ring."

Grace smiled broadly. "That makes it even more special." Glancing at the
clock, Grace turned to the door.  "I'd better get back out to my desk.
Let's hope that this weather will keep our business down tonight."

"If it does, I just might get caught up." Nat said with a sigh, as she
returned to her desk.  

"Now, THAT would be a first!" Grace called over her shoulder as she headed
down the hall.


End part 2 

All comments to: cstar@pdq.net

Date: Mon, 22 Dec 1997 14:38:34 -0600
To: fkarchiver@fkfanfic.com
From: CLone Star Software <cstar@pdq.net>
Subject: In All Ways, One (Part 3/20)

Disclaimers: Please see Part 1

In All Ways, One (Part 3/20)
By Nightlady
(c) 1997

Tracy sat in her car bracing herself for the walk from the parking lot to
the precinct building.  She was already tired and her shift hadn't even
begun. She'd spent Christmas Day with her parents.  As usual, Barbara
Vetter had drunk her way through the day. The effort to maintain some sort
of cordial behavior, as her mom slowly became more incoherent, had left
Tracy exhausted. The drive to work in the storm had not helped matters.
Opening the car door, she stepped out into the howling blizzard. Fighting
the wind she at last made it to the entrance, and once inside spent a
minute brushing the snow from her coat.   As Tracy headed toward the back
of the building where the detective's desks were located, Miller greeted
her with a smile. 

Tracy returned the greeting and as she turned toward her desk, spotted Nick
already at his and busy with a file.  As she approached, he looked up and
smiled.

"Please, don't tell me we have a new case already." Tracy said as she sat
down.

Nick sighed, "No, I have just been finishing up the paperwork on our cases
from last week."

Tracy gaped at him. "What! You are actually doing paperwork without me
having to scream at you about it! I can't believe it."

Nick laughed. He did have a tendency to put off doing his paperwork for as
long as possible. "Careful," he teased, "or I just might decide that this
is a bad idea after all."

Tracy grinned back. "Well, you have to admit this is a bit unusual for
you."  She was glad to find that she could still joke with her partner.
Knowing, as she now did, that Nick was an 800-year-old vampire had left her
unsure of just how she felt about him.  She had told him that she was okay
with the situation, but she admitted to herself a certain uneasiness.  'Too
bad I had to deal with mom and dad's problems yesterday.' She thought. 'I
could have used the time better adjusting to this situation.'  Even though
she was attracted to Vachon, Tracy had always felt that she could sense an
aura of evil about him.  Having met LaCroix, she had no doubts that he was
capable of great evil.  But Nick had always seemed to be goodness
personified and Tracy was left wondering if, perhaps, preconceived notions
had colored her opinion of Vachon.  Sighing, she reached for a folder.  

She had just opened the case folder when Reese's voice interrupted her
train of thought. 

"Vetter! Knight!  My office." Reese called out as he strode past their
desks.  

With a glance at one another, the two rose and went after him.  Entering
Reese's office, Nick took his usual position, leaning against the
doorframe, while Tracy dropped into a chair facing Reese's desk.  They
watched in silence as the Capt. removed his overcoat and hung it, along
with a scarf and hat, on the hall tree that stood in the corner.  As he
turned and sat in his chair he focused his attention on them.

"Glad you're back Nick. IA's final report on the Roberts' case just came
out. You are cleared of any misconduct. As a matter of fact, they recommend
that you be given a commendation for your actions."  Reese smiled with
satisfaction as he spoke.  "You too, Tracy." He nodded toward her.  

"I'm just glad it's all over." Nick said quietly. "The only thing I cared
about at the time was making sure no harm came to Nat."  

Reese nodded, "Yeah, she's a pretty special lady."  He paused for a moment,
then continued. "Knight, you can tell me to mind my own business, but I'm
going to say this anyway.  I know you and the doc seemed to be having some
problems a short while back, but I saw the two of you the other night at
your place.  Nick, I know what two people in love look like and you two fit
the picture perfectly. Take my advice, work out whatever has been bothering
the two of you and put us all out of our misery by asking her to marry you."  

Tracy slowly turned to see Nick's reaction to Reese's speech.  To her
surprise, Nick had a large grin on his face. As she caught his eye she
suddenly knew what he was about to say.

"I have, and she said yes." Nick said with a grin.  

Reese, caught off guard by this, sat dumbfounded for an instant before
rising and moving around his desk to clasp Nick's hand.   "Congratulations,
Nick!"  Reese said as he shook Nick's hand.   "Have you set a date yet?"

"Thanks, Capt. and we've tentatively picked March 7."  Nick glanced at
Tracy, who was still sitting in her chair, a slightly stunned expression on
her face.

Feeling Nick's eyes on her, Tracy smiled. "That's wonderful news, Nick."
She said quietly. She was stunned by this news. She knew that Natalie was
in love with Nick; indeed, she and Grace had done all they could to insure
the recent reconciliation between the newly-engaged couple. At the time she
had done so, however, Tracy had no idea that Nick was a vampire.  Now, she
wasn't as sure that the relationship between the two was such a good idea.
Even though Nick gave every appearance of being in love with Nat, Tracy
still had questions as to whether a vampire could truly love.

Nick could see that Tracy was uneasy with the news of his and Nat's
impending marriage.  He also recognized that her uneasiness was the result
of her knowledge that he was a vampire. The middle of Reese's office was
NOT the place to talk to her about his situation. Nick decided he would
have a talk with Nat about Tracy's reaction.  Maybe it would be better if
Nat talked to Tracy. 


It was almost 3:30am when Nat pushed her chair back from her desk and
sighed.  The pile of papers that had awaited her signature, or other
attention from her, had been cleared and it was with a degree of
satisfaction that she surveyed her accomplishment.  Nat had just finished
stretching to relieve the kinks in her neck and shoulders that all the
paperwork had produced, when a rich voice spoke from behind her. 

"Good evening, Natalie. I trust that you have recovered from the events of
the other night?"  

Natalie stood and turn to face the speaker.  "Yes, LaCroix, I'm quite
recovered.  By the way, have you ever heard of knocking on a door before
you enter?"

LaCroix gave her a small smile. "My apologies, I didn't mean to startle
you. I tend to forget that your senses are so much weaker than a vampire's.
 I merely stopped by to assure myself that you were well."

Nat narrowed her eyes slightly. No matter what LaCroix had said to Nick,
she still did not trust him. She was also suddenly very aware of the ring
on her finger. Keeping her face and voice calm, Nat said, "Thank you for
your concern." She paused, then continued. "Actually, I'm glad to have a
chance to speak with you, privately."  She smiled inwardly as LaCroix
raised his eyebrows. "I am fully aware that you don't care very much for me
and I'm sure that you realize that you are not my favorite person.  We do,
as you have pointed out have one very important thing in common. We both
care deeply for Nick."

LaCroix allowed a small smile to show on his face. "Yes doctor, I will
admit that you do care for my son.  I question the wisdom of such feelings,
if you intend to remain mortal, but not that the feelings exist. I am
pleased that you will allow that I, too, care for Nicholas."

Nat nodded.  "Don't worry about the wisdom of it.  Since we do have this
much in common, I'd like to propose that we try to get along with one
another.  We don't have to like each other, just so long as we can be civil."

LaCroix regarded her for a moment before answering. "Agreed."  He had to
admire the nerve of the mortal female. Very few vampires would try to
dictate terms to him, much less mere mortals.  'Yes, my lovely Natalie, you
will indeed make a good addition to our little club,' LaCroix thought. He
glanced at her with the penetrating look that had brought lesser souls to
their knees and she merely seemed to strengthen. Yet he could tell, from
the sounds of her heart and her breathing, that she was nervous about
something. At that moment he saw the ring. A ring he had last seen over 700
years ago.

Reaching out his hand, he lifted Natalie's left hand. "A most unusual piece
of jewelry.  Is it new?"

Nat could feel a sense of dread well up within her.  Being the one to tell
LaCroix that she and Nick were planning to marry was NOT something she
wanted to do, as she was not at all sure of what his reaction might be.

"Natalie's had it since Christmas night." Nick's voice came calmly from the
doorway. "When she did me the honor of consenting to be my wife." Nick
crossed over to Nat and placed his arm around her shoulders.

Nat felt relief rush through her as soon as Nick spoke. As he approached,
her she greeted him with a welcoming smile. The feel of his arm around her,
and his body close to her own filled her with a sense of safety.  

"What are you doing here, LaCroix?" Nick's voice was calm, but Nat could
hear the undercurrent of worry in it.  

"He just stopped by to make sure I had recovered, Nick."  Nat said
reassuringly to him. 'I might as well show LaCroix that I meant it when I
said we should try to get along.'

LaCroix nodded in Nat's direction. To Nicholas he said, "I wished to
reassure myself that the good doctor had suffered no lasting effects from
the other night. And now it appears that congratulations are in order." He
raised Nat's hand to his lips and lightly kissed the back of it. "My best
wishes to you both."

Nick looked hard at LaCroix before replying. "Thank you. We plan on
marrying on March 7th."  Nick looked at Nat and seeing her smile and the
slight nod of her head continued. "We would be pleased if you would attend.
In fact, I hope that you will consider being my best man."

LaCroix had not missed the silent communication between Nick and Nat. "I
would be honored, and I thank you both."  He did not wish to admit how much
the invitation did mean to him.  With a nod of his head, he addressed them
both. "Now, however, I must be leaving.  It will be sunrise soon and I do
not wish to spend the day here.  I will speak to you soon about your
wedding, Nicholas."

With that LaCroix crossed to the doorway and departed.

As soon as he was gone, Nat leaned against Nick and sighed.  Nick gathered
her close to him and raising her chin so that he could see her eyes asked,
"He didn't try to hurt you, did he?"

Nat reached up and caressed his check. "No, he was extremely polite." She
laid her head against Nick's chest. "But I have to tell you, I'm glad that
you showed up when you did." She felt Nick's lips brush against her hair
and smiled. "I wasn't sure how he was going to react to the news that we
are getting married."

"I wasn't sure either," Nick admitted.  "And I'm still a little stunned
that he took it so well."

Nat pulled away from Nick. "Let's not look a gift horse in the mouth." She
glanced at the clock. "We'd better get going, or you are going to end up
riding in the trunk."  

Nick laughed and, after helping her with her coat, took her arm as they
headed home for the day. 

LaCroix watched as Nicholas and Natalie walked from the building to where
Nick's Caddy was parked.  He smiled to himself as he anticipated the
changes that would soon be felt by Natalie.  He knew that neither Nicholas
nor Natalie had expected his reaction to their impending marriage. Even
though LaCroix felt that such conventions as marriage had no real place in
the vampire world. If Nicholas wished to go through with such a ritual, it
would have no effect on the final outcome.  Soon, within a year at the
most, Natalie Lambert would be a permanent part of the vampire community.
After waiting over 760 years, he would at last have his revenge.


End Part 3

All Comments to: cstar@pdq.net

Date: Mon, 22 Dec 1997 14:39:37 -0600
To: fkarchiver@fkfanfic.com
From: CLone Star Software <cstar@pdq.net>
Subject: In All Ways, One  (Part 4/20)

THIS IS THE ADULT VERSION

Disclaimers: Please see Part 1a 

In All Ways, One (Part 4a/20)
by Nightlady
(c) 1997

Tracy unlocked the door to her apartment and went in.  It had been a long,
and because of the weather, boring night and she was feeling extremely
tired. She had spent most of it, while appearing to go over her old case
files, examining her feelings about Nick and Nat's plans to marry.  

Dropping down on her sofa, Tracy sighed.  She knew that a large part of her
ambiguity toward this marriage was colored by her confusion over her own
feelings toward Vachon and her upbringing that had always viewed vampires
as imaginary creatures of pure evil. Chuckling to herself, Tracy admitted
that obviously at least the part about them being imaginary was an error.
As for Vachon, there was something about him that drew her while at the
same time causing her to fear him.  The confusing part was that she had
never felt that way toward Nick.  Even now, knowing what he was, Tracy
could not feel the 'evil' that she had convinced herself she felt from
Vachon.  

"Why couldn't he have told me himself!" She exclaimed out loud.  She
sighed, remembering the short talk she and Nick had after she had
discovered his secret.  She had told him that the knowledge that he was a
vampire would make no difference in their working relationship and, at the
time, had meant it.   It was only later as the full implication of the
situation sank in that the doubts had begun to surface.   And then tonight,
when he had announced the upcoming wedding, all Tracy could think of was if
Nick planned to make Natalie into the type of creature that he was.

She knew that Nat was deeply in love with Nick, or at least appeared to be,
but how much of that was real and how much might be induced by some form of
hypnosis?  Deciding that she would call Nat later in the day and arrange to
see her privately, Tracy headed toward her bed and much needed sleep.


Natalie opened her eyes slowly, still slightly foggy with sleep. She could
feel the warm lump that was Sidney curled up in the hollow formed by her
knees and the soft feel of the satin sheets against her skin. Her head was
resting on Nick's chest and his arms held her gently against him.  Smiling,
she shifted slightly to look at his face. 'He looks so relaxed and at
peace,' she thought. Looking at his profile, feeling his body next to hers,
Nat felt her heartbeat increase. As she had no memory of getting into bed,
she knew she must have fallen asleep downstairs last night.  They had
arrived back at the loft after work and it wasn't until Nat had eaten a
light meal and tended to Sidney's needs that she had at last gone upstairs
and taken a hot shower.  Donning her nightclothes, she had returned down
stairs to curl up next to Nick on the couch with the intention of
discussing Tracy's reaction, which Nick had mentioned on the ride home, to
the announcement of their plans to marry.  'Apparently, I was a lot more
tired than I realized.' Nat mused. 'Of course with all that has happened
recently, I guess I'm entitled.' She smiled again as she remembered how
nice it had been listening to Nick talk as she'd sat snug in his arms on
the couch.  Making a mental note to call Tracy and try to arrange a time
that the two of them could meet, Nat slipped from beneath the sheets and
padded across the bedroom to the bath.

Nick had awakened when Nat eased herself from his arms.  He lay still,
feigning sleep and watching her as she crossed to the bath.  He knew,
thanks to his vampire's senses that it was still several hours before
sunset. He smiled as he thought of how pleasantly they could spend those
hours. As he lay there, Nat returned from the bathroom and crossed back to
the bed. She stopped and petted Sidney, who stretched and jumped down off
the bed.  Nick could hear the soft sounds of the cat's footsteps as it left
the room. As Nick watched her, Nat slipped off the long tee shirt she had
slept in and Nick inhaled silently as he watched the nipples of her breasts
pucker and become erect as the cool air of the bedroom touched them.  The
sight of her creamy body, with the darker areas of her nipples and the
triangular patch of hair between her legs, caused Nick to want her
desperately.  The fullness of her breasts with their now erect nipples
awakened Nick's memory of the taste and feel of her warm flesh.  He could
feel his own body's reaction to her nearness, and slipped out of the silk
pajama bottoms he was wearing.  Already his penis was hardening with
desire. Opening his eyes fully, Nick called her name softly, as he sat up.
His need to feel her against him and to bury himself in her warm, slick
moistness raged through his body as she walked over to him. 

"I'm sorry, Nick, I didn't mean to awaken you." Nat said, noticing the
rather clear evidence of his manhood beneath the sheet.  The knowledge that
he wanted her, and of just how wonderful it felt to have his hands on her
and him deep within her, caused her own juices to flow. Nat could feel a
sight blush run through her, as she became aware of just how much she
wanted to feel him in her.

"You can awaken me like this anytime you want to," Nick said with a grin.
He laughed as Nat pointedly looked at where his manhood was forcing the
sheet away from his body and then, meeting his eyes, slowly licked her lips.

Throwing off the sheet and swinging his feet to the floor, Nick reached out
and pulled Nat to him. As she stood between his knees, her breasts were at
the perfect level for him to softly envelop one nipple in his mouth, as he
massaged the other with his hand.  He heard Nat's intake of breath she
laced her fingers in his hair, encouraging his actions with a light
pressure.  He teased the now hard nipple with his tongue, feeling the
shivers of pleasure that ran through her body and hearing the quickened
pace of her heart and breathing.

When he released the breast he had been playing with, Nat made a small
sound of protest, which swiftly died as he began to enjoy her other breast.
 She could feel the moistness between her legs, which was growing along
with her need.  Lost in the wonderful sensations his mouth was producing,
her knees nearly buckled as Nick's fingers sought and found her sensitive
mound.  As he began to rub and caress her, Nat could feel her legs begin to
quiver, his actions causing a delightful build of tension throughout her
body. She dropped one hand from his hair and found his stiff, throbbing
member.  The feel of his moisture, seeping out due to his own arousal,
added to her pleasure.  Grasping him carefully, she began to stroke the
length of him, smiling as he, too, groaned with pleasure. Just when she
knew that she could no longer stand, Nat firmly pushed Nick onto his back
and smiling wickedly, straddled his body.  

Nick gasped with pleasure as Nat slowly lowered her warmth onto him,
surrounding his member in a moist slickness even as she found his mouth and
enveloped his tongue in her own.  As she accepted his plunging tongue, she
began to slowly slide up and down his shaft, as her tongue ran lightly over
his fangs, causing them to drop and his eyes to shift to gold.  Nat smiled
down at him and began to increase the speed of her rhythmic rise and fall.
He cried out as the sensation built within him, the musky woman scent of
her along with her unique blood scent calling to both his man and beast.
He could feel himself growing harder and knew that he would have to find
his release soon.  

Nat could feel Nick deep in her very core, the cool hardness of him filling
her completely. She felt him twitch as he rose toward his fulfillment and
she increased her speed. Her own pleasure was so intense that she could
scarcely bear it. As Nick gave an inarticulate growl, she looked at his
golden eyes and on impulse, leaned forward to allow him access to her
breasts. As he closed his lips around one, she began to pant in short,
quick gasps as her whole body cried out for a release from the tension.
Nat felt Nick's teeth sink in to the sensitive flesh of her breasts and, at
the same time, felt him come within her in several long pulsing spurts of
cool fluid. The combination of sensations, along with the new and ever
stronger feelings she was receiving from his drinking of her blood,
triggered her own orgasm. The shudders ran through her body, as she cried
out in ecstasy. At last, she felt herself collapsing as she fought to
regain her breath.  

Nick's climax shook him and the feeling of Nat's breast in his mouth as he
tasted her blood, and in it her own pleasure, amplified it beyond any he
had ever before experienced.  He felt Nat shudder as she too came and
sensed through their link her need for physical support. Raising himself
slightly, he gathered her in his arms, and still within her, lowered her to
the bed.  As she gasped for air, he kissed her softly on her eyes,
forehead, and cheeks ending with a short, feathery kiss of her lips.  He
looked into her eyes, and knew that the love he felt for her was reflected
in her own love for him.  "Good thing we don't have to be at work for
another 5 hours," he whispered softly, as she snuggled against him. 

"Mmmm," Nat replied contentedly, "but I do have to get up in a minute.  I
want to phone Tracy and see if she can meet me before work, maybe have
'breakfast with her."  Nat looked up into Nick's now blue eyes.  "I do
remember you saying that she seemed upset about our plans, before I fell
asleep last night."

"She definitely did not react with the enthusiasm I would have expected,
especially since she and Grace did everything in their power to ensure that
we were together."  Nick said with a slight grin.

"That's the truth! And Grace certainly reacted exactly the way you would
expect." Nat chuckled as she remembered how excited her friend and coworker
had been.  "Of course, Grace doesn't know as much as Tracy does. Nick, I
suspect that despite telling you she was okay with learning what you are.
Tracy is really quite confused about it."

Nick sighed, " You're probably right. She didn't find out in the easiest
way, and I know that she is still adjusting to the knowledge that vampires
even exist at all."  He stroked Nat's face.  "I really haven't had a chance
to talk with her, just those few minutes on Christmas Eve..."

Nat smiled, "Don't you dare start feeling guilty about that!  You weren't
the one who managed to miss seeing her car at Vachon's. It's my fault that
she found our at all. That night, she seemed to be okay about it."  Nat
giggled, "She even asked me what it was like."

Nick raised an eyebrow. "Oh, and what did you tell her?"

Nat looked lovingly into his eyes. "I told her it was the most incredibly
intense experience I had ever had, and that the purely physical stuff
wasn't bad either."  

"Just wasn't bad?" Nick asked with a twinkle in his eyes. 
"Well, I guess I did underplay that a little." Nat returned with a grin.
"I was slightly distracted at the time."  She sobered, "It was before we
found you."  The memory of the terror she had felt when the hunter had held
Nick captive was something that Nat suspected would not fade quickly.

Nick hugged her against him. "It's over now and I'm all right, thanks to you."

"I know," she answered, "and I could never have done it without Tracy's
help, and LaCroix's and Vachon's."  She pressed against him and returned
his embrace.  
For several minutes, they lay holding one another, silently thanking
whatever powers had allowed them to be together.  At last, Nat pulled away
from Nick. 

"If I'm going to meet with Tracy, I have got to get up."  

Nick frowned, "I know, but that doesn't mean I like it."  

Laughing over her shoulder, Nat headed for the shower.


When Nat came downstairs some twenty minutes later, she found Nick seated
on the couch, talking on the phone.  Nat started to go to the kitchen in
search of a cup of coffee, when Nick motioned to her to join him on the
couch. Pointing to the phone in his hand, Nick mouthed, "Tracy."  As Nat
headed to the couch, she heard him say, "Here's Nat now.  I'll let you talk
to her while I fix a cup of coffee for her."  Handing the phone to Nat,
Nick moved toward the kitchen.  

"Hi, Trace, I was going to call you in a few minutes." Nat spoke cheerfully
into the phone. "I was hoping you might join me somewhere for a bite to eat
before our shifts start."

"Actually, I was calling to suggest that very thing." Tracy replied. "How
about that little restaurant over on Yonger, the one with all the potted
plants in the window?"

"Sure, that sounds fine. How does 6pm sound? That should give us plenty of
time even if they're busy."

"Sounds good, Nat. I guess I'll see you then."

"Tracy, is anything wrong? You sound a little upset."  Nat asked.

"No, I...I don't know. I do need to talk to you, Nat."  Tracy paused then
added, "Alone."

"Sure, Tracy.  Nick isn't real big on eating in restaurants anyway."  Nat
said trying to keep the tone of the conversation light.

"No, I guess he's not." Tracy's reply was quiet and Nat knew her suspicions
about Tracy's reactions to all which had happened in the past several days,
were probably correct.  

Well, I have to finish up a few things here before work, so I'll see you at
six."  Nat waited until she heard Tracy agree and saying goodbye hung up
the phone.

Nick sat back down beside Nat and handed her a cup of coffee.  Since Nat
had taken to setting up the pot in the morning, before they got ready for
bed, he had learned how much sugar and cream she liked in hers.  The simple
act of being able to bring her a cup of coffee when they got up in the
evening, was something Nick treasured.  Although she smiled as she accepted
the cup from him, Nick could see that Nat was concerned about her brief
chat with Tracy.  After waiting for a few minutes, he raised his eyebrows
and prompted, "So? What's up with Tracy?"

Nat sighed, "She wants to talk with me, ALONE, but wouldn't go into details
on the phone."  Glancing at Nick she added, "And yes, I do think it has
something to do with what she found out about you and us."  Putting her now
empty cup on the table, Nat stood. "I told her I would meet her for a bite
to eat before work.  I had better get going or I'm going to be late."  

Nick stood and followed Nat as she went to collect her briefcase, and coat.
 As she finished putting on the coat, he gave her a quick hug.  "I'm sorry
that you are having to deal with what should be MY problem."

Nat smiled lovingly up at him, "I don't mind, and besides I think of it as
OUR problem."  The soft smile her words brought to Nick's face warmed her.
Kissing him softly on the lips, she opened the lift door and headed down to
her car.


End Part 4a, continued in Part 5

All comments to: cstar@pdq.net

Date: Mon, 22 Dec 1997 14:40:39 -0600
To: fkarchiver@fkfanfic.com
From: CLone Star Software <cstar@pdq.net>
Subject: In All Ways, One (Part 5/20)

Disclaimers: Please see Part 1a 

In All Ways, One (Part 5/20)
By Nightlady
(c) 1997

It was a few minutes before 6:00pm when Nat pulled into an open parking
space a half block from the restaurant.  Although the snow had stopped and
the streets were now plowed, the temperature had dropped.  The icy wind
quickly caused Nat to wish that the restaurant had a parking lot next to
it.  By the time she had reached the front door she was shivering in spite
of the warm clothes she had on.

Entering the restaurant, Nat immediately spotted Tracy in the waiting area.
 With a smile, Nat headed over to the younger, blonde woman.  Nat noted
that Tracy managed a half smile in return, and saw a slightly dazed
expression in Tracy's eyes.

"I went ahead and put our name on the waiting list. I hope you don't mind."
Tracy said as Nat reached her.  

"No, that's great.  Any idea how long of a wait we have?" Nat replied.

"They said only about ten minutes, and I've been here about five already."
Tracy said.  "Thanks for meeting with me, Nat."  Tracy's eyes widened
slightly as she saw the ruby ring gleaming on Nat's hand. "Oh, Nat, that
ring is beautiful.  It looks like an antique." Tracy exclaimed.

Nat smiled happily as she looked at the ring. "Thanks, Trace. I love it. It
originally belonged to Nick's mother. It was her engagement ring. Nick had
it refurbished for me."  Nat watched closely as Tracy realized just how old
that made the ring.  She could see the conflict in Tracy's expression.  

"Nat," Tracy began just as the hostess came over and announced that their
table was ready.  Nat and Tracy spent the next few minutes placing their
orders and making small talk about the weather. It wasn't until their meals
had been placed in front of them, that they returned to the reason for this
meeting.

"Nat, are you really sure you know what you are getting yourself into?"
Tracy asked, her voice full of concern.

"Tracy, I love Nick. I have never felt this way about anyone in my life."
Nat spoke softly and reassuringly.  "I told you the other night, that Nick
is everything I have ever wanted or needed."  Nat paused to allow Tracy a
chance to respond.  She knew that in her heart, Tracy understood.  It was
the difficulty of reconciling what she felt with what her background told
her she should feel that was the problem.

Tracy's next words confirmed this. "I know, and that night all I could
think of was how wonderful it must be to love and be loved like that.  I'm
sorry, it's just that when I had a chance to think things over on Christmas
day, I ... I started wondering if it was you talking or something that Nick
had hypnotized you into thinking."  She looked anxiously at Nat. "I know
that they can do that sort of thing."

Nat smiled.  "Yes, I know that too, but I can assure you that Nick has not
done that to me.  He tried to make me forget that what he was that first
night in the morgue, but it didn't take."  She saw relief flood into
Tracy's eyes.  "Tracy, I can assure you that what I feel is the result of
nothing but love."

"Nat, please understand that I had to be sure..." Tracy began.

"I do understand and I am grateful that you care enough about me to feel
that way." Nat said as she reached across the table to touch the other
woman's hand.
"I know how hard it is just to accept the existence of Nick and Vachon. I
understand what a shock it had to be to you to find out that someone you
trusted with your life, was not what you believed him to be."  Nat paused,
"I wish that you had found out a different way, but you didn't."

Tracy could feel tears threatening to spill out of her eyes.  She looked at
Nat, and saw the concern in her face. Taking a deep breath, Tracy squeezed
Nat's hand. "Nat, can you really be sure that Nick loves you?  I mean
are...are what he and Vachon are capable of loving?"  She felt a tear slip
from the corner of her eye.  

"Of course they are capable of love, Tracy."  Nat said softly.  "I will
admit that I had the same doubts in the beginning that you are having.
After all, everything we ever saw about THEM, always portrayed them as evil
personified."  She smiled, "It's a natural reaction.  But as I got to know
Nick, to see the 'measure of the man' to paraphrase Shakespeare, I realized
that he was not evil.  The closer I allowed myself to get to him, the more
I realized that Nick is the most decent, honest, and loving person I have
ever known.  I won't say that all of THEM are like that, but neither are
all of us."  Nat saw that Tracy was starting to accept what she had said.
With an inward sigh of relief, Nat continued.  "I don't really know Vachon
all that well. As a matter of fact, I had never met him before that day at
the church but I knew that he had to be someone decent or you would not
have continued to see him."  Nat smiled at the slight blush that colored
Tracy's cheeks.  "I will always be grateful to him for his willingness to
help me find Nick. I can see why you like him, in a lot of ways he is like
Nick."  

Tracy couldn't help but chuckle at this.  "Nat, how can you say that!  I
can't think of any two people less alike than Nick and Vachon."

Now it was Nat's turn to chuckle, "On the surface, maybe, but down deep
where it really counts they are very much alike."  Nat sobered as she
looked into Tracy's eyes. "The fact that we are sitting here having this
conversation is proof of that.  They have both put their necks on the line
by allowing you and me to live."

Tracy felt a chill run through her, "Vachon said something that day at the
church about Enforcers?"

Nat nodded. "Yes, according to their laws, any mortal who finds out about
their existence is to either be made to forget or to be killed.  Nick tried
to make me forget and it didn't work, just as I am sure Vachon tried to do
with you."

"Yes, I remember, for a minute it was as though he were inside my head,
but..."

Nat nodded, "Same here. Nick bumped into me on the street the next night,
trying to be sure that it worked.  When I recognized him, according to
their rules he should have killed me."  She smiled, "But Nick is not a
murderer, any more than Vachon is."

Tracy looked puzzled, "Nat, I know that Vachon has killed in the past."

"As has Nick," Nat said calmly. "But they don't anymore. Remember Tracy,
they have to have blood to survive. Nick has drunk animal blood, instead of
human blood, for a very long time, and he still agonizes over the deaths he
caused in the past." Nat hesitated, searching for the words that would
convey her meaning to Tracy. "They are human Tracy, in spite of the fact
that they are for all intents immortal.  They made mistakes, did things
that they regret, just like all of us.  I do not believe that either Nick
or Vachon ever killed for fun, they killed because, at that time, they had
to do it to live." Nat sat back in her chair and waited for Tracy to think
through what she had just said.

Tracy sat silently for several minutes.  She wanted to believe what Nat had
said.  She thought of the many things in her life she had done and now
regretted, and she thought about Nick.  Tracy realized that, if she were
truly honest with herself, Nick was indeed a very good person, or at the
very least someone who would always try to do the right thing. She also
realized that there was no one who she trusted more. Suddenly her reaction
to his being a vampire seemed a bit silly.  He hadn't changed just because
she knew what he was; only her perception of him had been colored by her
new knowledge.  A warmth grew inside her as she realized that if it were
possible for a vampire to be good, to love someone as much as her heart
told her Nick loved Nat, then perhaps there was a chance, no matter how
small, for her to have a future with Vachon.  Tracy at last admitted to
herself: she was in love with Vachon.

Nat watched the emotions that played across Tracy's face.  'Please, let her
understand what I was trying to say,' she thought.  When Tracy at last
looked at her, Nat felt as if a weight had been lifted from her shoulders.
She could see in Tracy's eyes that her common sense had overcome the
childhood conditioning that automatically equated vampire with evil.

"So," Tracy said as she smiled and reached for Nat's hand, "let me have a
better look at that ring. And I am going to be invited to the wedding,
aren't I?"

"Of course you are!"  Nat replied happily. "How would you feel about
helping me pick out my wedding dress?"



Nick found that he was somewhat nervously awaiting Tracy's arrival as he
sat at his desk trying to do yet more paperwork.  He heard her familiar
heartbeat approaching and tried to look casual.  "Hi, Trace. Did you and
Nat have a nice meal?"

Tracy sat down opposite him. "Nick, I'm sorry for the way I behaved
yesterday.  Nat and I had a good, long talk.  She made me realize what I
knew all along." She paused awkwardly before continuing, "I'm glad that you
are my partner, and I hope that you will forgive me for ever doubting you."

Nick felt a knot in his stomach ease at her words. "Tracy, there is nothing
to forgive. I'm glad that you are my partner, too."  He knew that he was
grinning like a little kid, but he had come to like this young woman and to
value her friendship.  The ring of the telephone on his desk stopped any
reply from Tracy, but Nick knew that this time she was indeed okay with her
new knowledge.

"96th, Knight." Nick said as he picked up the phone.  His brow furrowed as
he listened to the voice on the other end. "Okay, we're on our way."
Hanging up the phone, Nick looked over to his partner. "Come on, Tracy.
That was a uniformed officer. He just came across a body in the park." 

Tracy was on her feet and quickly followed Nick to his car. "Did you get
any details?" She asked as she opened the passenger side door.

"Not really, victim is female and the ME has been notified." Nick said as
he started the Caddy and put it in gear.  "We'll just have to wait until we
get there."

A few minutes later, they pulled up next the several patrol cars. As Nick
and Tracy were getting out of the Caddy, Nat pulled in behind them.  They
paused and waited for her to get out of her car before heading up a slight
hill.  Near the top of the hill, several police officers, as well as a
police photographer, were standing looking down at the corpse.

"Either of you have any information on what we have here?" Nat asked as
they started up the hill.

Tracy shook her head and Nick answered, "No, the officer that called it in
only said female and the location."

"That's about what we got." Nat said, as she concentrated on maneuvering up
the snowy hillside with her medical bag. She smiled as she felt Nick gently
take a hold of her elbow, helping her balance.  The smile faded as the trio
drew close enough to see the victim.

She lay half way on her left side, her short hair shining gold in the
emergency lights that had been erected on the scene.  She was partially
dressed in a torn sweater and what appeared to be a skirt. Nick sighed, she
couldn't be much more than twenty-four. Beside him, he felt Nat give a
small shudder before she stepped closer to the body to begin her
investigation.  "Let's have a talk with whoever phoned this in," Nick said
turning to Tracy. "His name is Berhens."  Tracy nodded her agreement and
they set off to find the first officer on the scene.

Nat looked down at the young woman who lay before her.  Slipping on a pair
of latex gloves, she carefully attempted to move the victims hand, with no
success.  Either she had been dead long enough for rigor mortis to have set
in, or...  Reaching into her bag she removed a long thermometer. Raising
the sweater, Nat pushed the instrument into the woman's side and into her
liver. This would give her an idea of how long the body had been out in the
subfreezing temperature. While she waited for the thermometer to register,
Nat started to examine the body for any obvious signs of trauma.  She
quickly spotted a dark bruise at the base of the woman's skull and
indications that she had been bound, hand and foot.  Taking plastic bags
from her case, she placed them over the dead woman's hands and fastened
them above the abrasion marks with tape. Removing the thermometer, Nat
noted that had not registered at all, meaning that the body had been
outside long enough to cool past 70 degrees. The stiffness in the hands was
do to freezing, not rigor mortis.  It also meant that determining the time
of death would be impossible.  Sighing, Nat stood and indicated to the
waiting morgue technicians that they could remove the body.  Looking
around, Nat spied Tracy and Nick talking with an uniformed officer and
headed in their direction.

Nick looked up as Nat approached; the conversation with Officer Berhens had
produced little helpful information.  Nick hoped that Nat would have found
something that he and Tracy could use in their investigation.  He gave a
silent sigh of disappointment as Nat caught his eye and gave a small
negative shake of her head.  Finishing the conversation with Berhens, Nick
turned to Nat.

"Sorry, you're going to have to wait until I get her back to the morgue
before I can give you any idea of what killed her." Nat said. "I can tell
you that she has abrasion marks on both wrists and ankles, but the killer
removed whatever was used to tie her up." Nat paused, "And I can tell you
that she has been out here long enough for some freezing of the body to
occur."

"That means that you won't be able to even estimate the time of death,
doesn't it?"  Tracy asked.

"'Fraid so.  There didn't seem to be any sort of identification on her
either." Nat said, frustrated.

"So we had better start checking the missing person files and hope that we
find a match." Nick shook his head.  "She didn't strike me as looking like
a street person, maybe we'll get lucky."

"And whoever reported her will have suddenly gotten unlucky." Nat said,
sadly.  "I'm going to head on back to the office. I'll try and have a cause
of death for you before the end of shift."  She flashed both Tracy and Nick
a smile as she turned to leave.  

Nick stood for a moment watching until Nat was back at her car.  With a
slightly sheepish smile, he turned to find Tracy watching him with amusement. 

"Come on," Tracy said, "all those wonderful missing persons files await
us."  She laughed at the face Nick made and then headed down the hill.

End Part 5

All comments to: cstar@pdq.net 

Date: Mon, 22 Dec 1997 14:59:02 -0600
To: fkarchiver@fkfanfic.com
From: CLone Star Software <cstar@pdq.net>
Subject: In All Ways, One (Part 6/20)

Disclaimers: Please see Part 1a.

In All Ways, One (Part 6/20)
By Nightlady
(c) 1997

It was only an hour before their shift ended, when Nat arrived at the
precinct with her report.

"Cause of death, internal hemorrhage from a ruptured spleen."  She handed
copies of the report to both Nick and Tracy.  "There was also indications
that she was gagged, as well as bound. I found fibers in her mouth. No
indication of any sexual assault." Nat shook her head. "It's my guess that
she's been dead for at least two to three days but, given how cold it's
been the past few days, I could be off by a day or so."

Nick quickly scanned the information on the victim's height, weight, and
other identifying characteristics. He picked up a missing person's report
and handing it to Tracy said, "Three days would be about right. I think she
might be Anna Hutyera, reported missing Christmas Eve."  

Nat looked over Tracy's shoulder at the report. "You may be right, that
scar behind the right ear is the same and the other data fits, too."  

Tracy frowned, "So now we go see her family and make their worst nightmare
come true. This is one part of this job I hate."

Nick nodded as he reached for his coat. "I know, Tracy.  It never gets any
easier, either."  He kissed Nat on the cheek. "If it looks like getting
home is going to cut it too close, I may have to call you to come and drive
the Caddy."

"Oh boy, I wonder which streets have the most potholes!" She said
teasingly.  She laughed at the surprised expression on Tracy's face. "Don't
worry Tracy, I'll be kind."  


Nat had been home for a little more than two hours when she heard the lift
motor start.  She picked up the remote and closed the window coverings,
shutting out the rapidly brightening sky. As the door to the lift opened,
one look at Nick's face told her that the young woman had indeed been Anna
Hutyera.  Moving swiftly to him, Nat put her arms around him and hugged
him.  She smiled as she felt Nick's strong arms encircle her, holding her
tightly against him. At last, he loosened his hold on her. "Thank you," he
breathed against her hair. "I agree with Tracy, having to tell families
that someone they loved..." Nick broke off and sighed. 

"A positive, visual ID?" Nat asked, as she stepped away from Nick.  She saw
him nod. With a sigh, she went into the kitchen and, after a moment's
hesitation, reached for a wineglass. 'He can drink the protein shake
later,' she thought as she opened the fridge and removed one of the green
bottles of cow blood. She sat the glass on the counter and prepared to open
the bottle.  

"Let me do that, Nat." Nick said as he joined her in the kitchen.  "I know
you can't like handling this stuff."  

Nat smiled, as she relinquished the bottle. "Not really, but I would guess
that you are not too fond of fixing coffee for me either." She was glad to
see him smile at her remark.

"Touché." He kissed her softly before pouring a glass of blood from the now
open bottle. Picking up the glass in one hand, Nick put the other around
her waist and they walked over to the couch.  

"Her parents were the ones who reported her missing.  They were supposed to
spend Christmas Eve together and, when she didn't show up, they went to her
apartment.  According to them, nothing appeared to be out of place, but her
car was in the garage and her purse on the kitchen table. That's when they
called the police." Nick said, the sorrow he felt clear in his voice. "She
was engaged and supposed
to be married on January 5th." 

"The fiancé?" Nat asked.

Nick shook his head, "No, he has an airtight alibi.  He's in the military
and currently doing duty in Bosnia.  His leave doesn't start until January
2nd." Nick sipped from his glass.

Nat thought. "If her apartment was undisturbed, then she must have known
whoever killed her."

"It would seem that way.  We'll start checking out any old boyfriends
tonight."  
He looked over at Nat. "On a brighter note, I gather your meeting with
Tracy went well?" 

Nat smiled. "Yeah, she was just having a bit of a delayed reaction to this
latest crinkle in her reality.  We had a nice talk and I think she's going
to be okay."

"So she said tonight." Nick went in the kitchen. When he returned, he had
refilled his wineglass and also carried a tumbler filled with the latest
version of Nat's protein shakes.  Sitting the wineglass on the table beside
him, he took a swallow of the shake.  "Hey, this one doesn't taste quite as
bad as the others." He said, pleasantly surprised.

Nat laughed, "Oh, is my 'cooking' improving?"

"Either that or my taste buds have become immune to the taste of these
things." Nick said, ducking the pillow she swatted at him. "I forgot to
tell you earlier. I was able to reserve the banquet room at the Four
Seasons, for our wedding."  

"Nick! That's wonderful! Now I can find out what the airline schedule is
and call Sara."  Nat exclaimed excitedly.

Nick reached into his pocket and removed a folded sheet of paper.  "I
already checked the schedules," he said handing it to Nat. "I was lonely
without you this afternoon, it kept me busy."  The radiant look on Nat's
face warmed him like the remembered feeling of sunshine.

Nat looked at her watch, "Hmmm, only 6, that means it's only 3am there.
I'll wait until 9:30 and then call her."  She snuggled into Nick's arms,
her head on his chest. "I can't believe we are actually planning OUR
wedding."  

Nick hugged her. "Believe it, my love."


Shortly before 9:30am, Nat dialed Sara's number. Nick had gone on upstairs
a few minutes earlier.  She smiled to herself as she listened to the
ringing of the phone.  When Sara answered, Nat quickly told her that the
date for the wedding was confirmed and that she would send the tickets
within the next few days. After exchanging a few more pleasantries, Nat
hung up the phone. 

"Everything all set with Sara and Amy?" Nick inquired, as Nat entered the
bedroom.  

"Yes. As it turns out, Amy is on spring break from school that week, so
it's just a matter of Sara being sure of when she can get time off from
work."  Nat yawned as she finished speaking.  She was tired and quickly
moved to change into a nightgown.  Nick was folding back the comforter and
the sheets on the bed. As he finished, he slipped between the sheets; his
head propped up on one arm as he watched Nat finish getting ready for bed.

"Come here, you look like you are exhausted."  Nick said, holding the
covers open for her.

Nat slid in beside him, sighing as she curled up against his side. "Oh,
this does feel good. I didn't realize how tired I was until just now."  Nat
laid her arm across Nick's chest, her head pillowed on his shoulder.  She
loved the feel of his muscles under her cheek, and the mixed scents of his
after-shave and soap that wafted into her nostrils, made her feel relaxed
even as the gentle embrace of his arms around her made her feel safe.  She
could feel herself starting to drift into sleep and smiled slightly as she
recalled the many times she had lain, alone in her bed, trying to find rest.

Nick inhaled the spicy, floral scent of Nat's hair. He could hear her
breathing and heartbeat slow as she drifted into sleep.  After all of the
years of dreading the daylight, of struggling to quiet his conscience so
that he could find some semblance of rest, Nick luxuriated in the peace
that he had now attained.  In the course of his long life, Nick had held
many women in his arms, but none had ever soothed his soul the way
Natalie's presence did.  Even Janette, with whom he had been the longest,
had not given him the comfort and solace that Nat, by just being in a room,
provided.  Nick thought of Janette. He realized that he had been more in
lust with her than in love. The love that he did feel for Janette, was due
more to the fact that she represented the life he had known before LaCroix
had cursed him with immortality, than the merging of souls he had with Nat.
 "Thank you, for allowing me to find Nat." Nick murmured in quiet prayer to
whatever god might listen, before he too, fell into a restful sleep.

End Part 6 


All comments to: cstar@pdq.net 

Date: Mon, 22 Dec 1997 14:42:07 -0600
To: fkarchiver@fkfanfic.com
From: CLone Star Software <cstar@pdq.net>
Subject: In All Ways, One (Part 7/20)-Adult Version 

THIS IS THE ADULT VERSION

Disclaimers: Please see Part 1a

In All Ways, One (Part 7a/20)
By Nightlady
(c) 1997

New Year's Eve found Nat busy in her office.  She was checking to be
certain that there were plenty of supplies on hand and that the extra
staff, that had been called in for the holiday, was ready for what
experience had shown to be one of the busiest nights of the year for the
Medical Examiner's office.   Nat sighed, the loss of life tonight would be
due more to stupidity than actual malice.  Too many people, who thought
that the laws against driving while under the influence were meant for
someone else, would end up here tonight.  Even worse, they too often
destroyed the lives of others.

Shortly before midnight, Nick walked swiftly down the hall to Nat's office.
 For the first time in centuries, he found himself looking toward the New
Year with anticipation rather than apathy. He wanted to share the ringing
in of this year with Nat, for her love was the reason for this change of
attitude.

Nat turned as he walked into the office. The smile on her face, as she saw
him, was reflected by his own.  "Hi, I was hoping that you'd manage to get
by here." Nat said.

Nick crossed to her and took her in his arms.  "There was no way that I was
going to miss being with you to ring in what looks to be the happiest year
in my life."  He smoothed a stray lock of hair from her face, "Especially
since you are the reason that it is the best time of my existence."  

Nat smiled up at Nick, "It looks like the best year in my life too." she
whispered as he lowered his lips to hers.

The old year had passed, and the new one was several minutes old, before
they reluctantly broke their embrace.  Nat could sense Nick's desire for
her, indeed it matched her own. She also knew that fulfilling those wants
was, for the moment, impossible.  As she eased herself away from him, Nat
grinned. "Just wait until we're back at the loft, I have definite ideas of
how we should celebrate the holiday."

Nick met her grin with his own, "Really?  I had planned to spend the day in
bed."  He gave an exaggerated yawn.  "But if you have something else in mind?"

"No, the day in bed is JUST what I had in mind." Nat said, as she playfully
swatted his shoulder, "Just don't think for one minute that you are going
to spend the entire time sleeping."  She turned away and headed for her desk.

Nick wrapped his arms around her from behind. "Sleeping? Who said ANYTHING
about sleeping?"  Nat's giggle was cut short by the sudden, shrill ringing
of the phone on her desk, followed an instant later by the sound of Nick's
cell phone. Instantly sobered, they both answered their respective phones.

Some twenty minutes later, they stood together in the strobe-like glow of
the various lights from the police and emergency vehicles that surrounded
the crime scene.  Natalie had just finished her 'at scene' examination of
the body that lay at the center of the commotion.  

"Be glad that it's so cold out here," she said to Tracy, as the latter
shivered in the bitter, cutting wind.  "She looks like she's been dead for
at least 4 or 5 days. I'm not looking forward to the odor when she starts
to thaw."  Nat sighed, "And I've got more good news. I won't know for
certain until I get her back to the lab, but the rope marks on her wrists
look like they might have been made from the same kind of rope that was
used to bind Anna Hutyera."

Tracy looked at the grotesquely bloated body and felt her stomach churn.
It was bad enough to see, but the thought of being in a closed room with
the smell of it was enough to make her feel as if she would never want to
see or even think about eating again.  Glancing at Nick, Tracy found that
he looked as sick to his stomach as she felt.  

Nick forced himself to look at the body, and managed to keep from
flinching. He could smell the sickly, sweet odor of death that rose, like a
foul miasma from it, even in its current nearly frozen state.  It was a
scent he had become far to familiar with in his long life, and one that he
would be happy to never again encounter.  He stepped slightly closer to
Nat, seeing the sadness in her eyes, as she gazed on what might have been a
lovely woman before death and decay had claimed her.  'Who are you?' Nick
wondered. 'Who is missing you and how did you end up here?' Nat's last
words cut through his musings. "You think it was the same killer?" 

"I can't say for certain, but I think that you might have to consider that
possibility." Nat met his eyes. "I'll start on her as soon as she warms up
enough." The distant sounds of emergency sirens could be heard where they
stood huddled together. "Now that the drunks have hit the road, I'm sure
that I'll have enough to keep be me busy until then." She knew from
experience that there would be far too many victims of car crashes this
night.  Catching the attention of the waiting attendants, she motioned for
them to remove the body.

"You mean we might have a serial killer?" Tracy asked.  

Nat shrugged, "As I said, I can't be certain yet. And until we find out who
she is, we won't know if she and Anna were connected somehow.  It could be
that she is a friend who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"Or Anna could have been." Nick added. "Let's get out of here and head back
to the station. We can start checking the missing persons listings."  

As they headed for their cars, none of them spoke. The possibility of a
serial killer meant, that unless they got lucky and found him quickly, they
were likely to see more bodies like these.


It was almost dawn when Nat pulled her car into the garage next to Nick's
Caddy.  As she had suspected, there had been more car wreck deaths than her
office usually saw in two weeks. Even with the additional help, the
workload had been horrendous.  She had been right, too, about the
unpleasantness of working on the unknown woman.  Even though Nat had
showered after doing the procedure, it still seemed as if she could smell
the odor of decay clinging to her. In fact, it seemed like all of the
normal odors of the morgue, that she had felt herself inured too, had
seemed overly strong tonight. That the woman appeared to have been killed
in the same manner as Anna Hutyera didn't help, either. The idea of more
women ending up on her examining table in the same condition chilled Nat to
the core.  With a sigh, she got out of her car, and headed for the lift.
"What you need, Lambert, is a long, hot shower, some food and Nick," she
muttered to herself as the lift rose. 

Stepping out of the lift into the loft, Nat was disappointed to not see
Nick anywhere on the bottom floor.  She headed for the kitchen, but paused
uncertainly at the refrigerator. Although she was vaguely hungry, Nat
realized that until she did something about dispelling the memory of the
scent of decay, she would not be able to eat.  She was so lost in her
thoughts, that when Nick wrapped his arms around her from behind, she gave
a small shriek and jumped.

"Easy, Nat." Nick said, turning her to face him. He looked at the tired
expression on her face and smiled. Kissing her gently on the forehead, he
held her against him for a moment as she laid her head on his chest.  Still
smiling, he picked her up in his arms and carried her toward the stairs. 

"Nick..." Nat began. 

"Shhh, just relax." He said softly. 

At the top of the stairs, he walked not into the master bedroom as Nat had
thought he would, but instead, carried her to a door on the other side of
it.  Holding her easily with just one arm, Nick opened the door.

Nat had always assumed that the door led into a storage area, or some other
room and a gasp of surprise escaped her as she looked around the room they
had entered.  The flicker of dozens of candles lighted the room.  The main
feature of the room was a large, claw foot tub into which a stream of water
was pouring. The steam from the tub filled the room with the delicate scent
of roses, and other flowers. 

"I thought you might need a little pampering after last night." Nick
explained as he set her on her feet.  

Nat stood with her eyes closed. The warmth of the steam, rising from the
scented water in the tub, seemed to be calling to her.  Smiling at Nick,
she nodded. "This looks wonderful. Thank you!"  She stepped out of her
shoes, and began to undress. 

Nick watched as Nat rapidly stripped off her clothes. The flicker of the
candlelight on her skin and hair was intoxicating. Nick decided that if he
could spend eternity looking at, holding and loving Natalie, he might find
that it was not such a long time after all. As the tub had filled, he
reached over and shut off the water.

With a sigh of pure pleasure, Nat eased herself into the water. The scent
of the bath oil, wiping away the odors of the morgue, and the warmth were
the most heavenly things that she could imagine at the moment.  Sliding
down so that the water was up to her chin, she leaned her head against the
high back of the tub and closed her eyes allowing her senses to luxuriate
in the atmosphere that surrounded her.  She didn't hear Nick quietly leave
and was slightly surprised, when she opened her eyes after several minutes,
to see him seated on a small stool beside the tub. He had changed from his
shirt and trousers, and now wore a silken robe, without an undershirt.  She
looked at him, so full of love for him that she felt her heart would
explode with happiness. 

"Nick, this is exactly what I needed this morning."  

Nick leaned forward and kissed her softly on the lips. "I'm glad. There's
more, though."

"More! I can't wait!" Nat said, laughter bubbling in her voice. 

Nick reached to the side, and produced a plate containing slices of her
favorite cheese, some crackers, and several of the largest strawberries
that Nat had ever seen. She felt her mouth moisten with anticipation as she
noticed that the bottom halves of the strawberries were covered in dark,
shining chocolate.  Nick selected one and fed it to her. The acidic tang of
the strawberry, contrasting with the sweetness of the chocolate, caused a
shiver of delight to run through her body. "Oh, how wonderful," she sighed.

Nick smiled; he could see the tension and tiredness easing.  Slowly, he fed
the morsels to Nat, while sipping his own glass of nourishment.  When the
plate was empty, Nick set the tray aside.  "Are you ready to get out yet?"
Nick asked with a twinkle in his eyes.

Nat nodded, the water had begun to cool. As she stood in the tub, water
running in rivulets down her breasts and tracing the curves of her body,
she could feel new warmth inside her that had nothing to do with the hot
bath.  Nick, held a thick, soft bath sheet for her and she stepped out of
the tub and into his waiting arms. As he began to first pat her skin dry,
then to caress her with the towel, she found her heartbeat was increasing.
Without a thought, she brought her arms around his neck, and standing on
tiptoe, sought his mouth with her own. 

Nick traced the curves of Nat's body with the towel. When their lips met,
he felt the desire for her that had been growing throughout the past hour
burst into flame.  Dropping the towel, he pulled her tightly against him,
the scent of her blood, close to the surface from the heat of the water,
filled his head. He could taste the sweetness of the mouth and her hair
between his fingers was a silken cascade.  He knew that she could feel the
pressure of his manhood against her through the silken boxers he wore
beneath the robe.  Deepening the kiss, his tongue found hers, and he felt
his eyes change.  The steady thump of her heart called to him, reminding
him of the wonderful taste of her blood. 

Nat reached down and undid the belt that held Nick's robe together. Pushing
it open, she pressed her warm, flushed, breasts against his cool, firm
chest. Nick released his hold on her briefly to shrug the robe off,
allowing it to fall unheeded to the floor. As his arms again closed around
her, his hands sliding along her back, cupping her breasts, and moving
along her buttocks and thighs, Nat slid her own hands down across his firm
stomach.  When she reached the waistband of his briefs, she slid on hand
down into the front of them, clasping his manhood in her firm, but tender
grip.  The other hand pushed the briefs over his hips.  Falling to her
knees, she took him in her mouth, feeling him grow even harder as she
slowly licked and sucked on him. His sudden intake of breath as she played
her tongue in circles around the head of his firm member brought a smile to
lips. Looking up at him, she could see the tips of his fangs as he revealed
in the sensations that her actions brought him. When she felt him urging
her to her feet she did not resist, for she knew that without her blood he
would not find his release. As she rose to her feet, she found her mouth
captured by his, as he lifted her in his arms and carried her to the bedroom. 

There he laid her on the bed, never breaking his kiss. As his body covered
her, Nick's hand dropped between her legs, and he began to caress her
moist, slippery warmth. She felt her breath start to come in short gasps as
he moved his lips from her mouth to the firm mounds of her breasts.  The
sensation of his tongue as he played and toyed with her already erect
nipples, sent thrills of pleasure throughout her body.  Moaning with
desire, she once again found his manhood with her hands and continued to
stroke and fondle him.  Just when she thought she could stand no more, he
eased himself from her grip and slid into her dripping moistness.  The cool
feel of him as he filled her, caused her to cry out with joy.

Nick relished the warmth that surrounded his penis. He paused for only a
moment, before he began to move within Natalie. Neither the man nor the
beast would be denied any longer, and it was with a sense of wonder that he
felt Nat's hand pressing his head to her neck as his fangs broke into her
flesh. The taste of her blood filled his mouth, and the sure knowledge that
it gave him of her love for him, enabled him to stop himself from draining
her.  As her orgasm gripped he heard her cry out his name, and he found his
own climax shake his body.   


Natalie lay still in Nick's embrace, wonder filling her as she realized
that their bond had grown to the point were she was now starting to receive
some of his thoughts and feelings as he drank from her. The sudden, almost
overwhelming sense of his love that had swept over her as he drank filled
her with contentment.  She felt tears spring to her eyes as she thought of
how fortunate she was to have found, in Nick, someone who loved her with
the same intensity that she did him.  The feeling of loss she felt as he
withdrew his fangs from her throat suddenly clarified her thoughts.  She
knew, with certitude, that they were meant to be together forever, and that
she never wanted to be parted from him.  If that meant becoming a vampire,
she was willing to do so and would find some way to convince Nick that it
was what she truly wanted.  Still held in Nick's embrace, Nat felt the
exhaustion of the previous night claim her. 

Nick smiled as he listened to the slow, even breathing of the woman he
loved with a passion beyond anything he had ever experienced in his
existence.  He had felt, through her blood, the moment when she had become
partially aware of the depth of his love for her. That she could love him
with the same intensity, despite what he was, would never cease to be a
source of wonder to him.  He knew that he could never stand to lose her,
that without her, existence would be meaningless for him. He allowed
himself to consider the time, when as all mortals do, she would die and
realized that he was unwilling for that to ever happen.  "How can I ask you
to allow yourself to be condemned to my world of darkness?" He whispered as
he tightened his embrace and brushed his lips against her satiny skin. "But
how can I ever bear to let you go?" With a sigh, Nick closed his eyes and
sought sleep, but the sun was high in the sky before he finally found it.

End Part 7a, continued in Part 8

All comments to: cstar@pdq.net

Date: Mon, 22 Dec 1997 14:43:10 -0600
To: fkarchiver@fkfanfic.com
From: CLone Star Software <cstar@pdq.net>
Subject: In All Ways, One (Part 8/20)

Disclaimers: Please see Part 1a 

In All Ways, One (Part 8/20)
By Nightlady
(c) 1997

(January 25)

Natalie looked at the body of the young woman on the autopsy table.  She
frowned as she examined the discoloration on the wrists and nodded. Turning
to the man who stood watching her, she sighed. "I wish you had been wrong,
Mike, but I think that we definitely have another victim. The rope marks on
the wrist appear to be identical to the others."

Dr. Mike Bryce nodded sadly. "If you hadn't sent that email asking for the
other districts to keep watch for this type of victim, I would never have
thought to call and ask about it.  The press, thank heavens, hasn't gotten
hold of that information."

Natalie looked at the older man, "I don't want to think what will happen if
they do find out.  This is the fourth victim in as many weeks. As much as I
hate to admit it, I think we have a serial killer."  She thought for a
moment before continuing.  "The worst part is that so far, there doesn't
seem to be a common denominator among the victims."

"Except that they are all female," Bryce said.  "What about age range? How
much of a difference in years is there between the victims?"

"The first victim, Anna Hutyera, was 26; the next, Shanna Mills, was 19,"
Nat said ticking off each name on her fingers.  "Victim number three, Carol
Martin, was 47, Susan Perez was 30 and this one looks to be in her mid to
late 20s."  Natalie shook her head. "That makes an age span of 28 years
from the youngest to the oldest. The other baffling thing is, we know that
they were all abducted from their homes, but in each case the is no sign of
forced entry."

Bryce's brow furrowed, "Are you saying that they let the killer in?"

Nat nodded. "It looks that way. Nothing was disturbed, and they weren't
killed at either their home or where their body was found." 

"Meaning that they either knew the killer, or he seemed to be someone that
they felt was safe to let into their home."  Bryce gave a low whistle. "Did
they shop at the same place, or work near one another?"

"The first four worked several miles from one another. As to shopping, I
doubt it, Mike. In addition to a broad range of ages, we have an even
broader range of incomes."  Nat looked at her watch. "Have this body sent
downtown, and I'll do the post on her tonight." She flashed Bryce a smile.
"Again, that was a good call in noticing those marks on the wrists."

"Thank you for coming down on your time off, Natalie.  I'm sorry I had to
call you in the middle of the day like this, but I thought you'd want to
know as quickly as possible." Bryce apologized.

"I did!  Don't worry about having awakened me, I had to get up early,
anyway." Nat and Mike moved out of the examining room. "I have a fitting
this afternoon."

A wide grin crossed Bryce's face. "That's right, you're getting married on
March 7th, aren't you?" He laughed at the stunned look on Natalie's face.
"You ought to know by now that we have one of the best departmental grape
vines in the world!" He said, teasingly.

"I know it, but it still never ceases to amaze me." Nat said, laughing
along with him. "Yes, March 7 is the date, and that is only six weeks from
now."

"I wish you nothing but happiness, Natalie." Bryce kissed her gently on the
cheek.

Natalie hugged the older man. When she had first start working in Toronto,
he had been of great assistance to her.  She had been only twenty-seven and
there had been some of the older doctors who had resented her being in a
position of superiority.  Mike Bryce, however, had never done anything but
encourage her. "Thanks, Mike.  I am already so happy I don't think I can
get any happier," she said hugging him.  "Tell Elizabeth to watch for your
invitation. I hope the two of you will be able to attend."

"We wouldn't miss it for anything.  I don't think I've met the lucky groom."


"He's all that I ever dreamed of, and more." The glow of joy in Nat's eyes
told Mike that this was indeed a woman in love. He waved, as Natalie walked
through the snow to her car. 

Nat thought back to the afternoon, just over a week ago, when she, Tracy
and Grace had gone wedding gown shopping.  She could smile about it now,
having at last found the perfect gown, but at the time she had almost
despaired of ever finding anything that was suitable. 
**********************************************************************

'Oh no,' Nat thought as the sales clerk brought out yet another gown
covered with flounces, lace, pearls and other frippery.  She listened with
a set smile as Tracy and Grace exclaimed with delight over the dress. 'I am
not going to look like I belong on the cake, not cutting it!'  Patiently,
she explained, once again, "I'm really looking for something a lot simpler
than this. Something a bit less 'cluttered'." The blank expression on the
clerk's face made Nat want to shake the woman. 

"Natalie, maybe you should at least try it on." Tracy urged.  

"Yes," Grace chimed in; "sometimes a dress that you think looks bad on the
hanger will look great once you put it on."

Sighing, Nat gave in and a few minutes later emerged from the dressing room
feeling like an extra in a civil war movie.  She looked at herself in the
mirror, and although the gown was not quite as awful as she had expected it
to be, it just wasn't what she had in mind.

"Isn't she just lovely!" gushed the clerk. It didn't help Nat's mood to see
Tracy and Grace nodding enthusiastically in agreement.

"I feel like an idiot in this! I'm just not the frilly type."  Hastily, Nat
headed back to the dressing rooms.  

As they left the shop, the fifth one they'd been to today, Grace put her
arm around Nat's shoulders.  "You do know that brides are supposed to have
all sorts of fancy gewgaws on their dresses?" 

Nat nodded wearily, "I know, but none of the dresses seem right." She
offered her two friends a weak smile.  "I promise, one more shop. I will
find something there, even if it isn't my dream dress."  

Tracy and Grace glanced at one another. "We won't hold you to that," Tracy
said smiling, "no matter how tempting it might be.  You should have exactly
what you want for your dress, or a least as close to that as possible."

As they entered the sixth shop of the day, Nat suddenly knew that her dress
was here.  She paused for a moment, said a silent prayer that she was
right, and turned to face the sales lady that was approaching them.

"Hi, I need to find a dress that can be ready for a March 7th wedding. I
want something very simple, without a lot of frills. Do you have anything
that might be suitable?"  Nat asked.

The clerk looked at her; "I have just the thing. Why don't you ladies have
a seat over there and I'll bring it out."

A few moments later, the clerk emerged from the back room carrying a dress
with a skirt about one quarter of the size of the other gowns that they had
seen today.  Nat could feel her heartbeat speed up; it was as though this
dress was calling to her. She stood up and went closer to examine the gown.
 It was made of sueded velvet, long sleeved with a sweetheart neckline.  A
delicate, patterned lace insert provided cover to the upper chest and ended
in a beaded collar. Where the lace attached to the velvet, pearls and small
rhinestones outlined the pattern of the neckline, providing an accent to
the cleavage of the wearer's breasts. The bodice flowed softly and the
skirt widened into a small train. The sleeves were fitted and ended in
small points on the back of the hands.  "I'd like to try this on, please."
Nat said quietly.

When she emerged from the dressing area, she saw Tracy and Grace both gasp
slightly. 

"Nat! That dress is you!" Tracy exclaimed.

"Yes, you look like a queen in that." Grace agreed. 

Nat stood in front of the tri-view mirrors.  There were a few small
adjustments that needed to be made, but she loved the way she looked in
this gown.

"I feel like a queen." Nat sighed.

"If you like it, we can order it from the manufacturer, and have plenty of
time to make the few alterations that you will need." The sales clerk said
helpfully. 

"Yes, I do want it." Nat said happily.
****************************************************************************
****

Pulling her car into a parking space, Nat hoped that the dress looked as
good as she remembered it.  As she entered the store, she realized that she
had butterflies in her stomach. The clerk remembered her and Nat soon found
herself standing very still, as a variety of pins were placed in very close
proximity to her skin.  But the dress did look as wonderful as she
remembered it.  She hoped that Nick would think that it was as lovely as
she did.

"Have you given any thought to what type of veil you are going to wear?"
The sales clerk's voice cut through Nat's musings.  

"Um, not really. I'm not sure I want a veil."

The clerk nodded, "A lot of women choose not to wear a traditional veil.
How are you planning to wear your hair?"

Nat smiled; there was only one answer to that question. "I'm going to wear
it down. My fiancé likes it that way"

The clerk smiled back, "Most men do.  Let me show you something you might
like." Without waiting for an answer, she disappeared into the back of the
shop.  When she returned, she was had a smallish box in here hands. "This
is a nice alternative for a veil." The clerk, said opening the box.

Nat looked at what the clerk held in her hands. Multiple strands of pearls
and rhinestones, about 18 inches in length fell from a small cluster of
white silk roses and baby's breath. The flowers covered a small comb that
the clerk fastened into the back of Nat's hair. Nat could see in the mirror
how the pearls and rhinestones, cascaded down her hair, sparkling and
glinting in the light.

"That is perfect. I'll take it!" Nat said, loving the added touch of
elegance that the headpiece provided.  

After being assured that the dress and the headpiece would be ready in
ample time for the wedding, Nat left the shop and headed to her next stop,
the florist's. 

As she entered the florist's, a slight, drab looking man gazed at her from
behind the counter.  "I'm Natalie Lambert," she said to him. "I have an
appointment with Mr. Bako." 

The man looked closely at Nat then, nodded his head and without speaking,
stepped into the back room. A moment later, a much friendlier looking man
emerged. 

"I'm Charles Bako, Miss Lambert. If you'll step this way, we can discuss
what type of flowers you are going to need for your wedding."

As they headed to Bako's office area, Nat noticed that the first man was
watching her with an intense gaze.  'Come on Lambert,' she silently chided
herself, 'he's not done anything unpleasant.' As she entered the office,
she put the small man out of her mind.

End Part 8

All comments to: cstar@pdq.net

Date: Mon, 22 Dec 1997 14:44:09 -0600
To: fkarchiver@fkfanfic.com
From: CLone Star Software <cstar@pdq.net>
Subject: In All Ways, One   (Part 9/20)

Disclaimers: Please see Part 1a 

In All Ways, One (Part 9/20)
By Nightlady
(c) 1997

Nat hurried from her car to the coroner's building. The meeting with the
florist had taken a little longer than she had expected it to, and she'd
also had to stop and pick up something to eat.  That, combined with the
rush hour traffic, had resulted in her being uncomfortably close to being
late.  Carrying her take out food, briefcase, and assorted files, she
managed to get the door to the building open without dropping anything.  As
she walked rapidly down the corridor, she noticed again that the normal
odors that permeated the building seemed stronger than usual. 'Might want
to have maintenance check out the air filtering equipment.' Nat thought.
As she approached her office, she smiled as Grace appeared in the doorway.  

"Well, there you are," Grace said teasingly as she looked at her watch. "I
was starting to think that you had abandoned us tonight."

Nat stuck her tongue out at Grace. "No, just had one appointment too many
this afternoon.  I never dreamed that getting married was so much work!"

Grace laughed, "It's a labor of love, for sure.  Who did you see today?"
She followed Nat inside the office.  

"I had my fitting for the dress, picked out a headpiece, and managed to
choose the floral arrangements." Nat collapsed in her chair. "Tomorrow, I
have to see the caterer, and meet with the musicians. Thank goodness Nick
is handling the arrangements for the restaurant, the licenses, the judge,
and the honeymoon!"

"Any idea where you're going for that?" Grace asked. 

"Not a one, Nick won't even give me a hint!"  Nat smiled. "He says he wants
to surprise me."

Grace hugged Nat. "Don't worry, something tells me that you'll be happy
wherever the two of you go."  

Nat smile, "Yeah, I wouldn't even mind just holding up in the loft for two
weeks, as long as Nick was there."

"As long as I was were?" Nick's voice came from behind the two women.
Turning their heads, they saw him standing in the doorway.  

"Anywhere," Nat said, "as long as we were together."

Grace saw the look that passed between them. "Sounds like my cue to find
somewhere else to be." She said as she stepped past Nick.

As soon as Grace had left, Nick crossed to Nat. Bending, down he kissed her
softly on the lips. "How was your day? Did you get everything you needed to
done?"

Nat nodded, "Yes, I will have a dress to wear and there will be flowers."
She leaned back in her chair and looked at Nick, who had perched on the
edge of her desk.  "I also saw Mike Bryce this afternoon." The smile
dropped from her face as she handed Nick the file that Mike had given her.
"South got a body in last night. It looks like the same killer."

Nick frowned as he glanced over the file. "That makes at least five victims
that we know about." He closed the file and shook his head. "And we're
still no closer to knowing who our killer is than we were on New Year's."
He looked at Nat. "Is he sending the body over to you?"  

Nat nodded. "There wasn't any ID on her, so for now she's a Jane Doe. Maybe
you'll find her in missing persons."  Nat found the log sheet for the day
on her desk and studied it. "According to this, she arrived here about 20
minutes ago.  I'm going to have a bite to eat, and then I'll do the post on
her.  I should have something for you in a few hours."

"Tracy and I will try and stop by later then."  Nick rose to his feet. "I'd
better get on over to the precinct or Reese will be after me for being late."

Nat stood too, and wrapped her arms around him. "I'll look for you later
then," she said kissing him.

After watching him leave, Nat opened the tray containing her dinner.  She
was hungry, but somehow, the food didn't really appeal to her. Deciding she
was just tired from the busy day, she forced herself to start eating, but
after finishing barely half the food, dumped the rest in the trash.
Rising, she headed for the changing room and her scrubs.


Tracy looked up from her computer screen as Nick sank into the chair behind
his desk.  She smiled at him; "You're in luck, Capt. Reese's over at
division HQ, in a meeting." 

Nick gave her a small smile in return. "Let's hope that it's a good omen.
Nat thinks she has another victim, from South." He saw the smile fade
quickly from Tracy's face.

"That would make number five, in just over 3 weeks." Tracy sighed. "We're
lucky that the press hasn't caught on by now."

Nick nodded, "But that's part of our problem, none of the victims seen to
have anything in common.  They are all across the board in age, coloring,
build, location, income, even race." He paused as he considered his next
words. "If it is a serial killer, and I admit that it does appear that way,
what is the connection between these victims?"

Tracy looked at him, she could see that the inability to figure out who
might be the next endangered woman was disturbing to him. "Nick, there has
to be some sort of connection. We do know that the women appear to have
willingly let their killer inside their homes. All we have to do is figure
out why."  The look that she received for these words of wisdom caused her
to chuckle.  "Yeah, I know 'Is THAT all'."

Nick began to smile back when he spotted Reese coming down the hall. One
glance at the Captain's face told him that whatever the meeting at HQ had
been about, it was NOT good news.  "Uh oh, last time I saw someone looking
as angry as the Reese does, a major war broke out." 

Tracy glanced over her shoulder. "Let's hope that it doesn't have anything
to do with us."

"Vetter, Knight! NOW!" Reese's voice boomed across the room.

"So much for that thought," Tracy muttered as she rose from her chair. 

Wasting no time, they entered the office just a few steps behind Reese.
"You know," Reese said as he sat down behind his desk, "sometimes I think
the upstairs brass have forgotten everything they ever knew about real
police work."  Seeing the eyebrow that Tracy raised at him he added, "And
for your information, I am including your father in that statement."

"Problems, Captain?" Nick asked quietly.

"It seems that the last victim, Susan Perez, was engaged to the cousin of
Commissioner Gremes' wife.  Turned up missing just 11 days before the
wedding." Reese saw the look that Nick and Tracy exchanged. "Don't tell me
there is another victim."

"Natalie isn't positive," Nick said, "but she got a call from South earlier
today. They had a Jane Doe that seemed to have the same type of binding
marks on her that the others did."  

"Great. How long before she can say for certain?" Reese asked.

"She's probably doing the post now. She said that she would try and have
the information for us in a few hours." Nick replied. 

"Look, you two. I know that you both have been doing everything you can to
catch this person, but the brass seem to think that it's not enough." Reese
massaged his temples. "They are going to be even less happy when I have to
tell them that there is a fifth victim. Do you have anything that I can
give them?"

"Sorry Captain. Except for the fact that the victims were all female and
seem to have let the killer in, there doesn't seem to be anything else that
connects them."  Nick admitted.  

Reese sighed, "Okay, as of now, the two of you are off any other cases. I
want this killer caught and I want him caught quickly."  He glared at them
for a moment. "What are you waiting for? Go on! Get to work!"

Tracy and Nick didn't wait for him to tell them a second time. Back at
their desks, they pulled out the files on each of the victims and once
again began to go over them trying to find something, other than their
deaths, which tied the four women to one another.  Two and a half-hours
later, with no real progress having been made, they grabbed their coats and
headed to the Coroner's building.


Nat pulled the latex gloves off and dropped them into the disposal bin.
The young woman on the cold, steel table had been in perfect health when
she had been killed.  A frown creased Nat's forehead as she looked over her
notes.  She turned her head toward the door as she heard it open. 

Nick stuck his head in. "Nat?"

"Just finished. Hi, Tracy." Nat greeted them. "It is my opinion that this
is victim number five."  At the looks on their faces she added, "Sorry."
She managed not to sway as a sudden wave of dizziness swept over her.  "Why
don't we go down to my office and I'll tell you what I found."  The odors
in the room seemed overpowering to her.

Nick eyed Nat closely, but she gave him a reassuring smile. "I've been
standing for almost three hours and I'd like to sit if you don't mind." She
said in explanation.

"Won't get an argument from me!" Tracy said as she left the autopsy suite.

Nat laughed as she and Nick followed Tracy down the hall to Nat's office.
Once inside, they found seats and Nat, looking down at her notes, began to
speak.  "The pattern on the wrists matches that found on the previous four
victims that we are attributing to the same killer.  In addition, for the
most part, the method used to kill this victim is consistent with the
previous four, too."

"For the most part?" Nick interrupted, "What are the differences?"

Nat frowned. "Unlike the other four, there is an indication that the killer
indulged in mild torture before killing her." Nat noticed that Tracy was
looking slightly green at this news.  "It's possible that the injuries were
accidental, but I don't think that is the case."

"What kind of injuries are you talking about?" Tracy asked.

"Three of her fingers were broken, each in two places. In addition, there
is what appears to be a stress dislocation of one hip." Nat looked at Nick
and Tracy. "If we ARE dealing with a serial killer, he's accelerating.
Just beating his victims to death is no longer satisfying to him and if you
don't catch him soon, it's only going to get worse."  She heard the hard
note in her voice and immediately regretted it.  

"I'm sorry." Nat said in a softer tone.  "I know that both of you are doing
everything you can to find whoever is doing this."

Nick gave her a gentle smile. "It's okay. You were a lot kinder than Reese
was a little while ago."

Seeing the puzzled look on Nat's face, Tracy explained what had happened
earlier in the evening.

"And then I jump down your throats, too." Nat stood. "I wish I had more to
tell you, but I don't even have an ID on her yet." 

"I've run the description you gave me earlier through the computer listing
of missing person files." Nick said, also standing. "Right now, I've got a
list of over seventy-five possible matches for her."  He turned and grinned
at Tracy. "At least day shift will have to make all those phone calls."  

"Thank heavens for department policy," Tracy said fervently. She shook her
head. "The one thing I can't figure out is that if we're dealing with the
same killer in all of these cases, why can't we find some sort of a pattern?"

Nick nodded his agreement. "I know.  None of the victims were acquainted,
the age range is too large to be counted, and they don't even seem to come
from similar economic backgrounds."  He ran a hand through his hair in
frustration. "Even the killings themselves don't seem to be occurring in
any sort of a pattern."

"Just because you haven't found a pattern yet," Natalie spoke quietly,
"doesn't mean that there isn't one."  She stepped closer to Nick and laid
her hand on his arm. 

Nick met her eyes, and giving her hand a squeeze, sighed.  "Let's hope we
figure out what the connection is soon. It's bad enough that the brass is
breathing down our necks. If the news media catches on that these are all
the work of one killer..." Nick closed his eyes briefly. "Tracy, let's go
back over the files on each victim and set up a chart for each one listing
everything and anything at all that we know about them."

"Nick, we've already gone over those files with a fine tooth comb," Tracy
began to protest. 

"Then we'll just have to go over them again." Nick's expression was grim.
"Maybe if we put it all on a chart something will show up that we've missed."

"Maybe," Tracy conceded.

End Part 9

All comments to: cstar@pdq.net 

Date: Mon, 22 Dec 1997 14:45:19 -0600
To: fkarchiver@fkfanfic.com
From: CLone Star Software <cstar@pdq.net>
Subject: In All Ways, One  (Part 10/20)

Disclaimers: Please see Part 1a 

In All Ways, One (Part 10/20)
By Nightlady
(c) 1997

Nat pulled her car into its space in the garage. After struggling for over
an hour to complete one report, she'd left work early, unable to
concentrate.  'I have got to have that air filtering system checked out.'
She thought, as she gathered her briefcase and headed toward the lift.  Her
office had seemed inundated by the various odors that were an inescapable
part of any morgue.  

As she entered the loft, Nat shrugged out of her coat and laid her
briefcase on the dining table. Glancing around the large downstairs room,
she smiled when she finally spotted Sydney curled up on one of the
bookshelves near the radiator.  He opened one eye and gave a faint meow
before going back to sleep.  Nick had noticed that Sydney liked to sleep in
high spots and, after observing the cat's choices for several days, had
surprised Nat by carefully padding what seemed to be Sydney's favorite
shelf.  While Nat had teased him about trying to win Sydney over, the fact
that Nick did care if Sydney accepted him just made her love him more.  She
smiled again, as she recalled Nick's response. "Let's just say that I've
slept on more than my share of hard surfaces and I know that padded is
always better."  Nat knew that Nick had been pleased when it became evident
that the padded shelf was Sydney's favorite sleeping area.

Checking the time, Nat decided that she had more than enough time to take a
hot shower and get comfortable before Nick would arrive home.  Slipping off
her shoes, she climbed upstairs.  Soon, she was relaxing under the steamy
spray of water, letting the water sooth her muscles and wash away the
lingering odors of her job. 

After drying off and donning her nightgown and robe, Nat padded barefoot
back down to the main living area of the loft.  She lit a fire in the
fireplace and sat watching the flames until she heard the lift motor kick
in.  Rising, she went into the kitchen and, taking two goblets from the
cupboard and a bottle each of blood and wine from the fridge, poured a
glass of each.  She looked at the deep reddish color of the bloodwine and
slowly lifted it. As she stood staring at the contents of the glass, she
was only vaguely aware that she suddenly felt hungry. She only tore her
eyes from the glass when she heard the lift door opening.

Nick paused by the door surprised to see Nat. "I thought you had to work
until six?" He said as he crossed to where she stood. 

"I did, but I think there's something wrong with the ventilation system at
work. I couldn't concentrate on what I was doing, the odors in my office
were so bad." Nat said.  "So, I decided that I'd come on home, and finish
up my reports here."
She noticed the sudden smile on Nick's face.  "What?" She inquired.

"You said you'd decide to come home." Nick explained. "You have always
referred to this place," he said indicating their surroundings, "as the
loft. I like hearing you call it home."

Nat returned his smile. "Did I? I guess I must be 'settling in' because it
does feel like home."  She handed him the glass she was holding. "Here, I
know you must be hungry and I know you'd rather have this than a nice,
healthy protein shake." She teased.
Nick took the glass from Nat and wrapped his other arm around her
shoulders. As she leaned against him, he could smell the scent of her hair
and the unique blood scent that was Natalie.  "Thanks, I don't think I
could manage a protein shake right now, no matter how good it was for me."

"No luck with charting the cases?" Nat asked, sympathetically. 

"Didn't even get a chance to start." Nick replied. He smiled as he felt her
arm encircle his waist and hug him. "Looks like we're both laden with
'homework' tonight." 

"I just have to finish up a report. Let me do that and I'll help you with
your stuff." She pulled back from him and nodded toward the empty glass on
the counter. "But first, let me pour myself a glass of wine and we'll take
a few minutes rest before starting."

"Pour your wine, and I'll put on some music." Nick said releasing her.

A few moments later, they were snuggled together on the couch listening to
the soft sounds of a Mozart concerto. They didn't talk, but just enjoyed
the nearness of one another, the strains of the music and their drinks.
When the concerto ended, Nat sighed and rose from the couch.  "Come on,
let's get the work finished." She said as she took Nick's hand.  Nick
groaned, but also rose and together they went to the table and the tasks
that awaited them. 

Without the distractions that had plagued her at her office, Nat was able
to quickly finish the report.  As soon as she finished sending it via modem
to Grace, she put away her computer and moved to sit beside Nick.  

Nick smiled and handed her a marker. "I'll read off the information and you
can mark it down here." He said, indicating the chart he had started on a
large piece of poster board.  "Hopefully, we'll find something that matches
up."

Nat looked at the categories on the chart. The victim's age, coloring,
height and other physical characteristics were provided for as well as
socioeconomic factors that they might have in common. Nat saw that Nick had
included education, employment, and marital status in the latter instance.
He had been very thorough, and the result was over twenty different labeled
columns and another half dozen blank ones. She nodded her approval at what
she saw. "Look's like you've covered everything. Let's get started."

It was several hours later, and the sun had already risen, when Nat made
the last notation on the chart.  She sighed with relief and rolled her head
to loosen the tightness in her shoulder. Looking at the chart in front of
her, she could not find any column that contained the same information for
each victim.  The age range was too wide; there were no similarities in
physical appearance, nor any of the other categories. The closest match was
that three of the five known victims had been engaged to be married.
"Nick, I can't remember, do you know if Shanna Mills or Carol Martin were
engaged?  The closest thing to a match we have here is that Anna Hutyera,
Susan Perez, and our Jane Doe were definitely engaged." Nat saw the
questioning look that Nick gave her.  "Okay, I'm assuming she was engaged
because she was wearing a diamond solitaire on the ring finger of her left
hand."

Nick looked back at the files on Mills and Martin. "Nothing in either of
these indicating that they were engaged, only that they weren't married at
the time of their deaths." He looked at Nat and could see how exhausted she
was. "Why don't you go on upstairs and get some rest. I'll try and contact
Mills' and Martin's family and see what I can find out."

Nat yawned. "I think I will." She kissed Nick. "Don't be long, I never
sleep as well when you aren't holding me." 

Nick pulled her against him. "I'll be up in just a little while. I don't
like to sleep without you in my arms, either." With a final kiss, he
released her and watched as she climbed the stairs. When she had
disappeared from his view, he picked up the phone and began dialing. 

A short time later he slid into the bed and smiled as Nat, without
awakening, snuggled up against him.  Kissing her softly, not wishing to
disturb her sleep, he lay his cheek against her hair. His eyes drifted to
where her hand lay on his chest, the ruby and gold ring he'd given her
gleaming softly in the small amount of light that seeped through the
shuttered windows.   A look of concern crossed his face. Nat's guess had
been correct. Both Shanna Mills and Carol Martin had been engaged.  The
Jane Doe now had a name too, Robin Mickelson.  She had been positively
identified by her fiancé.  Nick gently stroked the back of Nat's hand with
his thumb. Five dead women and the only thing that they had in common,
aside from being the victims of the same killer, was that they were all
engaged to be married.  Unreasoning fear for Nat swept through him. "I'll
keep you safe, my love." He whispered softly. Listening to the calm, steady
beat of Nat's heart, he at last slept.


Tracy unlocked the door to her apartment wanting only to have this night
end. She was exhausted, her eyes gritty with the need to sleep.  As she
stepped into the apartment, she froze as the soft sound of an acoustical
guitar reached her ears.  She could feel her heart speed up, knowing the
likely source of the music. Softly closing the door, Tracy walked into the
living room and smiled. Vachon was seated cross-legged on the floor, his
eyes shut as he lost himself in the music. As she watched, he held out his
hand toward her and she crossed to where he was and sat beside him. As his
arm slipped around her, she laid her head against his shoulder and she
started to relax.  

"I've missed you," Vachon said softly, as the last notes of the music faded. 

"I've missed you, too." Tracy admitted softly. "Thanks for letting me have
some time to think. Finding out about Nick made me have to take a long,
hard look at my preconceptions about...you know." She finished lamely.

"About vampires?" Vachon asked grinning. "You still have a problem with the
word, don't you?" He teased.

Tracy blushed, "Yes, about vampires." She looked into Vachon's wide brown
eyes, and saw the sparkle of mischief in them. "You will be pleased, I
hope, to know that even though I still think I'm going to wake up and find
that all this is just a dream, I have to admit that just being a vampire is
not necessarily the same thing as being evil."  

Vachon smiled and pulled her into his lap. "Good, because I would hate to
do this," he kissed her softly on the mouth, "and have you think there was
some nefarious reason behind it."

Tracy relaxed in the strength of his arms. "Oh, darn," she replied as she
raised her hand to stroke the side of his face, "and here I was getting the
idea that you might be trying to seduce me."

"Ah, but who says that is a bad thing?" Vachon responded. 

"True, I don't think it is such a bad thing at all." Tracy slid her hand
behind his head and pulled his willing mouth down to meet her own. 

When their lips finally parted, she leaned her head against Vachon's chest.
"Vachon, I think I'm falling in love with you."

"Tracy, I have feelings for you too, but we have to go slowly. I know that
somehow Knight has managed to have a relationship with Dr. Lambert, but
their situation is unusual."  He lifted her chin so that he could see the
clear blue of her eyes. "In most cases, when one of us tries to make love
to a mortal, either the mortal dies or ends up being brought across."  He
watched closely to see her reaction to his statement.  

"I know," she whispered, "but I want to believe that if Nick and Nat can do
it, there is at least a slim hope for us."

Vachon kissed her forehead. "We don't dare chance that just yet." He saw
the sadness that filled her expression. "There is a lot that we can do
though," he said and proceeded to demonstrate.

It was close to dawn before he finally left her apartment.


Nat groaned as the shrill sound of a beeper going off cut through her
dreams. Forcing her eyes open, she glanced at the bedside clock, which read
3:00pm.  She fumbled around on the nightstand, finally locating the
offending beeper when she knocked it to the floor.  Cursing softly under
her breath, she picked it up and looked at the page.  Behind her, she could
hear Nick chuckling as he watched her, an exercise that was cut short as
the phone on his side of the bed began to ring. 

Nat picked up her own cell phone and dialed her office, as Nick reached for
his phone.  The fact that they were both being called at the same time
might be a coincidence, but a dull ache in Nat's stomach made her think
otherwise.  

"This is Dr. Lambert." She said as the phone on the other end was answered.
"I just got a page?" As she listened to the voice of one of the day
workers, Nat heard Nick say, "No, I'm glad that you did call me. I won't be
able to get to the scene for a little while, though."  

"I'll be there within the hour." Nat said.  She hung up and turned to Nick. 
"I gather that someone thought to call you about the body that was just
found in Riverdale Park?"

Nick nodded, running a hand over his face. "Yes, I left word that if any
female victim who appeared to have been dumped was found, I was to be
notified at once."  He indicated the faint light visible around the
windows. "Not that I can DO anything for at least another two hours." 

Nat reached over and laid her hand on his arm. "You can call Tracy and have
her meet me there. That way you will at least have the information you need
waiting for you."  Nat grinned, wickedly, "Besides, it's only fair that if
we have to get up, she does too."

Nick laughed, "You are vicious when you first wake up, aren't you?"  He
kissed her. "But you're right, Tracy can get the field work started until I
can safely get there."  Releasing her, he reached for the phone as she
headed to the bathroom.  

End Part 10

All comments to: cstar@pdq.net

Date: Mon, 22 Dec 1997 14:46:25 -0600
To: fkarchiver@fkfanfic.com
From: CLone Star Software <cstar@pdq.net>
Subject: In All Ways, One  (Part 11/20)

Disclaimers: Please see Part 1a .

In All Ways, One (Part 11/20)
By Nightlady
(c) 1997


Nat pulled up at the crime scene just seconds before Tracy arrived.  She
waited until the young, blond detective got out of her car and the two of
them walked down the slope to where the body lay.  Nat couldn't help but
notice that even having been awakened in the middle of sleep didn't seem to
dampen the perkiness of the younger woman. 'The advantages of youth.' she
thought.

As they approached the body, Nat felt her stomach churn.  It was obvious
that this latest victim had been undiscovered for sometime following her
death and Nat was glad that she had skipped eating before coming to the scene.

Thankfully, the cold weather had slowed decomposition, but it was evident
that animals had gotten to the corpse.  Nat hoped that there would be
enough left to determine the cause of death.   

Tracy stopped several feet from the body. After the pleasant hours she'd
spent with Vachon, the sight of the ravished corpse in front of her seemed
even more horrible.  She watched as Nat took a deep breath to steady
herself, and then bent to examine the woman more closely. After several
minutes, Nat rose and walked back to where Tracy was standing.  

"It's definitely our killer." Nat said. "And this time he got sloppy." She
held up a plastic bag in which several ecru-colored strands of material lay.  

"What are those?" Tracy asked.  

"Pieces of whatever he used to tie her up." Nat replied. "Hopefully, we can
get a match to a brand name or manufacturer from these."  Nat sobered, "But
that is about the only good news I have for you. She's been here too long
to get any sort of accurate time of death on, and the postmortem damage may
have destroyed any chance of knowing just how she was killed." 

Tracy sighed. "I guess I'd better see if I can talk to whoever found her."
She looked around. "What time do you think Nick will get here?"

Nat looked at her watch. "Sunset is in another forty minutes so, knowing
Nick, he'll be here shortly afterwards."  She suddenly chuckled and at
Tracy's questioning look explained, "I was just thinking that yesterday at
this time I was standing in my wedding dress, afraid to even breath deeply
because of all the pins in it. I'd have hated to had to have gotten out of
that in a hurry."

Tracy smiled. "You are planning to take some time off before the wedding,
aren't you?"

Nat nodded, "Yes. Sarah can't get away until late on the fifth of March,
but she's sending Amy here on the first so I'll take that week off to be
with her." 

"Good! A bride who's falling over from exhaustion is no fun." Tracy said,
smiling.
"Just for that I'm going to leave you here in the cold. After you and Nick
finish here, drop on by and I'll fill you in on what I find."  Nat said as
she turned to head back to her car. 


Nat sighed as she heard Tracy and Nick's voices greeting Grace.  She had
done the post on the latest victim, but all she had for them were
assumptions, nothing that would be of any real assistance except for the
fibers she'd found at the scene.  

"Hi, you two," she greeted Tracy and Nick as they entered her office. 

Nick looked at Nat and could tell by her expression that she did not have
good news for them. "Tracy said you found some fibers from whatever the
killer used to bind the victim?" 

"Yes, but I'm afraid that is the only good news I have for you on this
victim." Nat shrugged. "She'd been exposed for too long. Most of the softer
tissues were...missing." She hesitated, "From what I can tell with what was
left, our killer has escalated in his fury. There were mutilations that
were done too cleanly to have been caused by animals."

Tracy gave a small shudder. "What a horrible thing to have happen to
someone." 

Nick nodded. "It's going to be hard on her family when we locate them."  He
turned to Nat. "Anything that might be helpful in that area?"

"As a matter of fact, yes.  She had a tattoo of a rose on her left shoulder
and a small butterfly on her right thigh."  Nat said reading her notes. 

"That should cut down the number of missing person's files we have to go
through." Tracy said, relief evident in her voice. 

"But it still brings us no closer to finding the killer." Nick said.

Nat walked over and touched his arm. "You'll find him." She said simply.


(February 11)

Nick pulled the Caddy over to the side of the dirt lane, and shut off the
motor. As he got out, he glanced across the roof of the car at his partner
and noted that Nat's car was parked slightly farther down toward the crime
scene.  A short distance away, a group of police and forensic personnel
were gathered, over what Nick at first presumed to be the victim of this
homicide. It wasn't until the wind carried the rich scent of fresh blood to
his nostrils from a slightly different direction that a look of concern
crossed his face.  Quickly he scanned the scene for the one person he
didn't see. "Nat!" he suddenly exclaimed as he drew close enough to see the
person lying on the ground at the center of the crowd.  Moving as fast as
he dared, without revealing his vampiric ability, Nick none too gently
pushed his way into the group. 

 Nat lay on the snowy ground, apparently unhurt, while a paramedic hovered
over her.  Dropping to his knees beside her Nick took her hand in his.
"What happened?"  He asked the paramedic. 

"I think she just fainted. She was over there, by the victim, when she
suddenly went real pale. She said she felt dizzy and started to head back
to her car. I was helping her when she just lost consciousness." The
paramedic replied.  "The shape that poor guy's in," he said indicating the
victim, "I'm surprised that more people haven't fainted."

Nat moaned and her eyes fluttered open. "What...what happened?"

Nick leaned into her view. "You fainted, Nat." 

"Away from the corpse, I hope." Nat said trying to smile.

"Don't worry, you didn't mess up the scene." Nick said. "How do you feel now?"

Nat considered for a moment before answering. "Aside from embarrassed as
hell, fine." With Nick's help she slowly sat up and after a moment rose to
her feet.  "I don't know what happened. All of a sudden, everything seemed
to be fading away."  She leaned against Nick, trembling with both cold and
anxiety. 

"You've been trying to do too much, and not getting enough rest." Nick
said. The killings had everyone on edge, and he knew that Nat had been
putting in overtime trying to find some clue that would lead them to the
killer.  That in, addition to the various arrangements for the wedding, had
caused her, in Nick's opinion, to push herself to the point of exhaustion.

"You may be right." Nat conceded. "I'm feeling fine now, though. Let me
finish up here and I'll go home early." 

Nick looked at her. "Fine, I'll take you home. Tracy can follow with your
car and then I'll take her back to the station."  He pushed Nat's hair back
from her face. "Promise me that you'll take tomorrow night off, too."

Nat started to protest, but the idea of over twenty-four hours to just rest
was too good to pass up. "I promise. I am tired."

Nick kissed her and held her arm as they turned back to the crime scene. He
had just started forward when Nat spoke. 

"Be prepared, this one's a regular blood bath." She said softly. 

Nick nodded his thanks, and made sure that he had a tight leash on his
personal beast. 

As they drew nearer to the corpse, Nick could feel the vampire in him
struggling to get free. Nat hadn't exaggerated. The snow around the
middle-aged man was stained bright red from the blood that had seeped from
his body.  

"Apparent cause of death is a laceration to the femoral artery." Nat said,
as she indicated the area that seemed to have the largest concentration of
blood.
"Looks like someone went after him with something like a machete."

Tracy joined them from where she had been speaking with two uniformed
officers. "Actually, it was a ten inch hunting knife." She held up a
plastic bag containing the bloodstained weapon.  "Seems he got drunk and
had a fight with his girlfriend. When he tried to cut her, she managed to
get out of his way, he slipped on the snow, and somehow sliced himself
open."  At Nick and Nat's astonished looks, Tracy smiled.  "The girlfriend
is the one who called it in. When he didn't get back up after falling, she
came back far enough to see the blood, and dialed 911 for help.
Unfortunately, by the time they arrived, it was too late."
"I'll have Grace check the knife for fingerprints." Nat said. "If the only
ones on it are his, and the angle of the wound is consistent with the
girlfriend's story, then you guys may get a break on this one."

"I wouldn't mind that!" Tracy said. "The last thing we need is another
unsolved murder."

"I promise I'll go right home, there's no need for you to have to drive
me." Nat said as they headed back to where their cars were parked. 

"And take the chance that whatever caused you to faint happens again while
you're driving?" Nick shook his head. "I've waited too long to marry you to
lose you in a traffic accident."

"Nick's right," Tracy chimed in, "and I don't mind dropping your car off,
so don't argue."

Nat sighed, "Okay, okay, I yield!" She smiled at Nick as he opened the
Caddy's passenger side door for her. "But I don't need a babysitter.
There's no reason for you to have to stay with me, I promise not to leave
the loft."

Nick grinned. "Okay, but I will call and check up on you."  Shutting the
door, he went around and got in on the driver's side.  After they had
pulled away from the crime scene, he glanced over at Nat.  He had to admit
that the color was back in her face, but she still looked exhausted.
"Feeling better?" 

Nat smiled. "Much, and you are correct. I've just been so busy that I guess
I need a bit more rest." She lightly poked his arm. "Of course, part of the
sleep I've missed is YOUR fault."

Nick grinned back at her. "Guilty as charged, and not in the least
remorseful." He looked at her with an exaggerated leer. "If my memory is
correct you have to share some of this guilt though" 

Nat's laughter was music to his ears. "I guess I'm just as guilty." She
admitted, "I do seem to recall having instigated more than one of those
events."

Nick soon pulled up outside the loft. After indicating in which bay Tracy
should park Nat's car, he walked Nat to the lift. "I'll be home as soon as
I can." 

Nat nodded and after giving Nick a kiss, stepped into the lift.  As the
motor engaged, Nick turned to see Tracy waiting for him by the Caddy.
"Thanks," he said returning to where she stood.

"Glad to do it." Tracy replied. "I just wish we could solve all our
problems this easily." Taking a deep breath she added, "Did I tell you that
Vachon dropped by the other week?"

Nick raised his eyebrow. "No, you didn't." The growing relationship between
his mortal partner and the young Spanish vampire left Nick with ambivalent
feelings. He was concerned that Tracy not be hurt, and knew too well how
easily that could happen, but at the same time he realized that falling in
love with someone was not something one could easily control.  "How is
Vachon? I haven't had a chance to see him lately."

Tracy smiled, "He's fine. We've decided to keep seeing each other."  She
saw the intake of breath that this statement caused and quickly continued,
"We also agreed to take it slow. We both realize the dangers and that what
you and Nat have is not the norm."

Nick was silent for a moment. "I hope that it all works out the way you
want it to, Tracy.  I really do. Let me know if I can be of help in any way."

"Thanks, Nick. That means a lot."  Tracy said. She was surprised at how
much better she felt now that Nick knew. "So," she said changing the
subject, "any ideas on what we're overlooking in our serial killer case?" 

End Part 11

All comments to: cstar@pdq.net

Date: Mon, 22 Dec 1997 14:48:06 -0600
To: fkarchiver@fkfanfic.com
From: CLone Star Software <cstar@pdq.net>
Subject: In All Ways, One (Part 12/20) Adult Version 

THIS IS THE ADULT VERSION

Disclaimers: Please See Part 1a .

In All Ways, One (Part 12a/20)
By Nightlady
(c) 1997


Nat stepped off the lift and breathed a sigh of relief. "What the hell
happened out there?" She wondered aloud. After removing her coat, she
headed for the kitchen to make a cup of tea and some toast. While she
waited for the water to come to a boil, she lit the fire in the fireplace,
and went upstairs to change into a comfortable pair of sweats. Returning
down stairs, she buttered the toast and poured the water into a pot to
brew. When it was ready, she carried it over to the sofa and sat down. 

In her mind, she replayed what had occurred at the crime scene.  She'd
parked her car and talked briefly with the officers on the scene. She'd
felt fine, until she had neared the body of the victim. "And then I smelled
all that blood." She leaned back and tried to recall exactly how she'd
felt. She remembered the sharp, coppery scent of the blood... and she felt
herself shiver as she remembered her reaction to it. It was as though the
odor was calling to her.   "What is happening to me?" Nat whispered.
Although her initial reaction to the blood scent was puzzling, what had
followed had been even odder. As she had stood beside the victim, she had
suddenly experienced what had seemed to be the sounds of drums. The
rhythmic sounds had been overwhelming, causing her to almost blindly
stagger away from the crime scene. Nat could vaguely recall hearing the
paramedic inquiring if she was okay, but she had been unable to respond.
Her mind, unable to cope with the unwanted stimuli, had sought refuge in
unconsciousness and the next thing she remembered was opening her eyes to
find Nick beside her.  

"Okay, Lambert," she said aloud. "Enough of this nonsense! You're tired and
overworked. The blood only seemed to smell overpowering because there was
so much of it and it was so fresh. The rest was just a weird prelude to a
fainting spell."  Even though she spoke with confidence, a small voice in
her head laughed and seemed to ask if there could be any other explanation.
Determined to ignore it, Nat picked up the remote for the TV and, turning
it on, searched through the programs offered until she settled on a program
about the wonders of ancient Egypt. Snuggling into the corner of the sofa,
she soon felt her eyelids droop and sank into a light sleep.

Across the city, LaCroix had felt the sudden fear that Nicholas had
experienced arriving at the crime scene.  LaCroix had carefully focused his
senses on the bond that he shared with his son. Through it he was able to
also sense the bond that Nicholas shared with Natalie Lambert.  LaCroix
smiled as he noted how much stronger that bond had become in just the past
few weeks. As he carefully probed this new bond further, he nodded in
satisfaction. "Ah, at last it has begun," he breathed. "And just in time
for the wedding."  Satisfied, he leaned back in his chair. Tomorrow, he
would try to pay a visit to the dear doctor, at a time when Nicholas was
not present. LaCroix had entertained the possibility that Nick might
somehow become aware of the other method of bringing someone across in time
to prevent it from happening to Dr. Lambert. He would need to see her in
person to judge just how firmly established the beast was, but that
Nicholas' precious mortal was well on her way to becoming one of them,
LaCroix no longer had any doubts. 

Nick thankfully pulled the Caddy into the garage and hit the remote to
close the door.  Even though he'd returned to the station, he'd had a
difficult time concentrating during the rest of his shift. The car had
barely stopped moving before Nick had shut off the engine and started to
the lift.  The ride to the upper floor of the warehouse seemed to be taking
forever, and Nick fidgeted nervously as he endured it. Listening carefully,
he relaxed somewhat as he could tell by the slow, steady beating of Nat's
heart that she was either resting or asleep.  As the lift came to a halt,
Nick quickly opened the door and stepped into the loft.  

He smiled as his eyes found Nat, curled on her side, her head pillowed on
her hand, sound asleep on the sofa. Nick crossed to where she lay, and
picking up the remote, turned off the TV. Carefully, so as not to disturb
her, he covered her with an afghan. Going to the fridge, he took out a
bottle of blood, opened it and poured himself a glass. Taking both the
bottle and the glass, he carried them over to the chair next to the sofa.
Placing the bottle on the table, he sat down and slowly sipped from the
glass, all the time watching Nat as she slept.  She looked so peaceful that
he was finally able to convince himself that the fainting episode, earlier
that night, had indeed been only the result of exhaustion. 

The bottle was nearly empty when Nat stirred and opened her eyes.  As her
soft blue eyes found him, Nick moved to kneel beside her. "How are you
feeling?" He asked as he gently brushed the hair from her face. 

"Much better. What time is it?" Nat said smiling. She sat up and patted the
space next to her.

"Just a little before dawn." Nick replied as he sat beside her and took her
in his arms.

"I must have been tired." Nat said as she laid her head against Nick's
shoulder. "I've slept for over five hours, and I feel like I could sleep
another five."
She smiled as she felt Nick's hands softly caressing her. "Mmmm, that is
just what the doctor ordered."  

Nick gave her a gentle squeeze. "Oh? I have other 'treatments' I can show
you, too." He said as he tilted her face to his. He found her mouth with
his own, and softly kissed her. Breaking the kiss he added, "But if you'd
rather just go back to sleep..."

Nat smiled at him. "I have all day long to sleep.  I'd much rather see some
of your 'other treatments' right now."  She reached up and pulled his lips
back to her own.  

Nick felt the worry he had carried all night disappear as Nat's warm tongue
met his own. He let his hands roam over the curves of her body, familiar to
him now, but just as wondrous each time he explored them, as they had been
that first night.  He knew in the depths of his soul that if he could spend
eternity holding and making love to Nat, each time would be as wonderful
and new as that first time.  He deepened the kiss, and felt Nat's instant
response and her hands as they lovingly caressed his body. Her scent filled
his head, and he felt his fangs drop as his arousal grew.  

They broke their kiss only long enough to remove their clothing, allowing
each piece to lie wherever it fell. Nude, they slid into one another's
arms, the coolness of Nick's body warmed by Nat while she drew a different
kind of warmth from the love that each touch of Nick's hands reaffirmed.
Neither was willing to delay the pleasure that awaited them, and Nat
eagerly lay back upon the sofa, legs open in welcome.  Nick slipped between
her legs and thrust his swollen member into the depths of her warm, moist
core, as she cried out with joy.  Nick began to rock in and out of her, as
she met him and with each thrust pulled him ever deeper inside of her.  As
both rapidly rose toward climax, Nat pulled his head down, turning her head
to allow him free access to the throbbing vein in her throat.
Unhesitatingly Nick sank his fangs into the softness of her flesh,
welcoming the ambrosia taste of her blood. As her orgasm shook her, Nat
pressed her quivering body tightly against his, tightening around his
manhood and holding him deep within her. The power of the love he felt in
her blood brought Nick to a shuddering climax. Reluctantly, he withdrew his
fangs from her throat, kissing away the last few drops of blood.  As he
looked down on Nat, her smile and the love that shone in her eyes warmed
his cold heart, making him feel more human than he had ever felt in his
long existence. 

Nick shifted his weight off of Nat and, first locating the discarded
afghan, pulled her into his arms.  While Nat snuggled happily against him,
her warm, smooth skin soft against his own, Nick made certain that the
afghan covered her to protect her from the slight chill in the loft. For a
time, they stayed like that, not needing to speak, watching the dancing
flames of the fire. After a time, Nick realized that Nat was drifting into
sleep, and carefully standing, carried her up the stairs. In the bedroom,
he gently laid her in the bed, before slipping in next to her.  In moments,
both were deeply asleep in one another's arms.


Nick had been gone for about an hour the next night when Nat decided to
make herself a light meal.  She was feeling much more like her normal self,
and had decided that the strange events of the night before had, indeed,
been the result of too little rest.  As she finished making the chef's
salad and hot tea she would have for dinner, she decided that she would go
over the information on the six murder victims in another attempt to find
some sort of a connecting pattern.  Even though they now knew that all of
the women had been engaged, that alone wasn't enough of a pattern to enable
them to significantly narrow the search for the killer.  Just as she
reached for the now bubbling teakettle, Nat sensed a presence in the room
with her.  With a gasp, she whirled around to find the tall figure of
LaCroix watching her from only a few feet away.

"I'm sorry, did I startle you?" LaCroix inquired.

"You know LaCroix, there are these wonderful inventions nowadays called
telephones and doorbells!" Nat said heatedly. "You really ought to try
using them once in awhile."

LaCroix smiled slightly. "I did startle you. I'm sorry. That was not my
intention." His suave voice carried a hint of amusement in it. "I hope you
will accept my apology. I'm unused to not having my arrival sensed."

Nat glared at him. "Just try to remember to at least cough or say something
when you put in an appearance, okay?"  Pouring the water into a teapot she
added, "Nick isn't here. He's already left for work."

LaCroix watched Nat as she continued with the preparations for her meal.
'Indeed, a most worthy addition to our kind,' he thought as he noted her
quick recovery from the fright he had given her.  "Yes, I am aware that
Nicholas is not here. I came to speak with you."  This close to her, the
sense of the awakening beast inside her was far easier to discern. If he
could make even brief physical contact with her, he would be able to
estimate just how long it would be until the beast demanded that she either
be brought across or if she refused, that she die.

Nat turned and looked at LaCroix with narrowed eyes. "Oh? About what?"

"To thank you for allowing me to be a part of your and Nicholas' wedding
plans." LaCroix answered smoothly.

Nat blushed slightly. "Um, there's no need to thank me. I recognize that
there is a bond between you and Nick, that you are in a sense, his father."
 She met LaCroix's eyes. "I do know that, in your own way, you love him."
She had understood when Nick had hesitantly asked how she would feel about
his asking LaCroix to be his best man. 

LaCroix lowered his eyes. "I am pleased that you, at least, will admit
that. Nicholas would rather choose to believe that my sole interest in him
is to torment him."

"Maybe that's because you've always seemed to do that so well." Nat smiled
as she saw that her words had hit home. "Perhaps, if you would accept him
the way he is and stop your attempts to remake him in your own image, you
would find that your relationship with Nick would improve."

LaCroix resisted the urge to lash out at the mortal woman in front of him.
How dare she try to tell him how to proceed with his relationship with
Nicholas! Instead, LaCroix calmly replied, "Perhaps you are correct, my
dear doctor."  'I hope that you have to beg me to complete what dear
Nicholas has started. I shall enjoy feeling your life force fade as I make
you submit your will to mine.' "I must admit, when I first became aware of
Nicholas' feelings toward you, I dismissed them.  I assumed that he was in
love with you due to the fact that you are what he cannot be...mortal. I
wondered if he would still be so enraptured with you if you were one of
us." LaCroix noted the subtle stiffening of Natalie's posture. "Of course,
now I am sure that it is far more than that..."  

Nat raised an eyebrow at this, but decided not to respond.  She started to
pick up the teapot and carry it over to the table. "I hope you won't think
it too rude of me if I have my dinner. I'd offer you refreshment, but I am
well aware that you don't care for cow blood."  

"Not at all. I thank you for the thought, but you are correct. I frankly
cannot understand how Nicholas can drink that swill."  LaCroix stepped
forward, "Let me take that for you." He reached out for the teapot and
managed to briefly make contact with Natalie's hand as he took the teapot
from her. He turned quickly toward the table so she would not see the look
of triumph that spread over his face. 'I shall not have to wait long,
either, for you.' He thought. 'No more than eight months at the most.'

Nat stood very still for a moment. When LaCroix had touched her, a wave of
dizziness had washed over her and just as quickly disappeared. With a small
shiver, she picked up her salad, eating utensils, and mug and followed him
to the table. 

"Would you like to sit down?" Nat offered, indicating one of the vacant
chairs.

 
"No, I really must leave. I do have a radio program to do, as well as a
club to run." LaCroix smiled. "I will try to remember to let you know in
advance the next time I visit."

Nat managed to produce a smile, sincerely relieved that she would not have
to try and eat under the gaze of those cold, blue eyes. "Then I doubt if
I'll see you until the wedding. I'll be moving back into my apartment at
the end of the month. My niece is coming in on the first, and it will be
easier to stay with her there than to try and have her here."

"Ah, is this the niece who is going to be your bridesmaid? I look forward
to meeting her."  LaCroix said.

"Yes.  Amy is a lovely child. She's not quite thirteen." Nat said, her tone
clearly indicating that LaCroix had better behave around Amy.

"I give you my word, I will do nothing to either alarm or harm her."
LaCroix said.

"Fine, then we understand each other." Nat said.

LaCroix turned, crossed to the lift and opened the door. Giving Natalie a
somewhat sardonic smile, he stepped inside. 

Nat stood and listened until she heard the lift motor stop. Glad to be out
from under LaCroix's cold, blue-eyed gaze, she sat down and began to eat.

End Part 12a, continued in Part 13

All comments to: cstar@pdq.net

Date: Mon, 22 Dec 1997 14:49:14 -0600
To: fkarchiver@fkfanfic.com
From: CLone Star Software <cstar@pdq.net>
Subject: In All Ways, One  (Part 13/20)

Disclaimers: Please See Parts1a.

In All Ways, One (Part 13/20)
By Nightlady
(c) 1997


(February 25)

Tracy sat with her head in her hands. Her eyes felt as if someone had used
sandpaper on them and she had the beginning of a headache.  The discovery
of another victim of what the papers were calling the Bride Killer,
bringing the number of known victims to nine, had resulted in a long
lecture from Capt. Reese, as well as several calls from her father.  In
both cases, the subject was the same, figure out who was doing the
killings. Tracy grimaced as she recalled the not so subtle hints her father
had made on how the failure to solve the case could be damaging to her
career. She hadn't really gotten angry, though, until he had questioned
Nick's competence. Somehow, that had made her finally tell him to leave her
alone and let her and her partner do their jobs. 'He must have gotten the
message,' she mused, 'at least he hasn't called anymore.'  Tracy raised her
head when she felt a touch on her shoulder. 

"Here, drink this, have a bite to eat, then go lie down and catch a few
hours rest."  Natalie Lambert said, placing a cup of hot chocolate and a
toasted English muffin in front of Tracy. "I know that Nick can manage
without sleep, but you can't."

Tracy nodded. "You're right. Everything is starting to blur, I do need to
rest."  She sipped the hot chocolate letting the warmth fill her. "Thanks
for letting me stay here today, Nat."  

"Thank you for bringing Nick home." Nat said smiling. "If you hadn't I
would have had to drive that land barge of his."

"Careful how you talk about my car!" Nick said, hugging Nat from behind. He
studied Tracy's face. "Nat's right. In fact, we should all take a few hours
rest. Maybe then we can find a fresh angle to approach this thing."  He
shot a glance at the chart that was taped to one wall of the loft.  "I'll
get some linens for the couch while your eating."  After kissing the back
of Nat's neck, he headed upstairs.

"I hope this case gets solved before the wedding." Nat said. "I can just
see us all getting paged to a crime scene in the middle of the ceremony."

Tracy nearly choked. "You are both taking the day off, aren't you?"

Nat shrugged, "Technically, yes. Remember that I'm taking off starting on
March first. In a case like this though, if they find another victim, being
off won't mean a thing."  Nat turned to look at the chart one more time.
"You know, so far that hasn't done a whole lot of good. We know that all
the victims lived alone and were planning to get married, but we still
can't be sure that is the connection between them. Even if it is, there is
no pattern to the killings, or at least not that we've seen."

"No set time between the attacks, if that is what you mean." Tracy said,
stifling a yawn. 

"That or between the wedding dates..." Nat's voice suddenly trailed off. 

Tracy looked up at her friend and, seeing a sudden look of deep
concentration on her, face sat quietly.

"Tracy, look," Nat said excitedly. "I think I've just found the pattern."
Nat stood up and crossed to the chart. "NICK! I've got it! It's a countdown."

Tracy moved to stand beside Nat, as Nick dropped pillows and a blanket on
the couch and joined them.

"The first victim, Anna Hutyera, disappeared fourteen days before she was
suppose to get married." Nat pointed to the name. "This is what threw us
off, the second victim that we found, Shanna Mills, was actually the third
killed. She disappeared twelve days before her wedding. We know that Susan
Perez disappeared eleven days before she was to be married, and the others
that we have wedding dates for all disappeared closer and closer to the day
they were supposed to be married."

Nick and Tracy looked at one another.  "You get some rest. I'll do some
calling and find out the rest of those wedding dates." Nick said to Tracy.
He saw the stubborn look that came into her face.  "Don't argue. If Nat's
right, we're going to have plenty of work to keep us busy."

Tracy considered for a minute. "Yeah, because our killer is going to have
to be someone with knowledge of the wedding dates of all the victims." She
smiled grimly. "That means that it must be someone involved in weddings.
We'll have to try and find out whom each victim chose for their
photographer, caterer, and what ever else you need for a wedding."

Nat smiled, "Get some rest, I can help with this." She went to her purse
and pulled out her appointment calendar. "I've got a list of all the
various services, from the dress to the napkins in the back." She said, as
she handed it to Nick. 

Tracy laughed, "Guess it's a good thing that you two are getting married."

Nick wrapped his arms around Nat. "I've always known that."  He grabbed the
phone from the nearby table. "Come on Nat, I'll call the station and get
someone started tracking down this information from upstairs. Then we can
all get some rest."

Tracy watched as, arm in arm, they climbed the stairs.  As they disappeared
from her sight, she gave a sigh of exhaustion, then fixed the pillows and
blanket on the couch and lay down.  Her head had barely hit the pillow
before she was asleep.


It was several hours later when Tracy awoke feeling refreshed, if not
totally rested. Stretching, she got up and went into the downstairs
bathroom. Running the cold water she splashed some on her face, and ran her
fingers through her hair.   As she emerged, Nat was entering the kitchen
area. 

"I'm going to make some coffee. Want a cup?" Nat said, smiling.

"Please! A good cup of coffee would be perfect." Tracy looked around the
living area. "Nick up yet?"  

"Yes, he's on the phone with the station. He'll be down in just a few
minutes."

Nick came down just as Nat and Tracy were starting to sip their coffee. In
his hand he carried a yellow legal pad. Going to the chart on the wall he
rapidly filled in the missing wedding dates. When he was finished, it was
clear that Nat's theory was correct.  The length of time between the
wedding date and the dates the victims disappeared formed a grisly countdown.

"Now all we have to do is hope that they used some of the same companies in
planning their weddings." Tracy said.

Nick smiled, "So far, the victims that I had dayshift check for wedding
dates have three companies in common. They all used the same caterer,
printers and florist. We have the phone numbers of the other victims'
families, so we'll use the rest of the afternoon contacting them to see who
they had hired."

"That would certainly help to narrow the number of possible suspects."
Tracy said. 

"Yes, and we can use any break we can get." Nick replied.

"What companies did they use?" Nat asked quietly.

Nick consulted his list. "Le Bon Gout Catering, Special Occasions Printers,
and Mr. Bee's Flowers." He saw Nat's eyes widen as he read the list. 

"I can't fault their choices," Nat said soberly, "I chose the same companies."
She saw the concern that her statement brought to both Nick's and Tracy's
expressions.  "Relax, both of you. I don't fit the profile. I don't live
alone, remember?"

Nick relaxed somewhat. For a fleeting second the possibility of driving up
to one of these crime scenes and finding Nat as the victim had chilled him.
"Maybe you ought to just have Amy stay here next week..." he began.

"Nick, you know as well as I do how hard that would be.  Besides, Amy will
be with me so I still won't fit the profile." Nat said, trying to reason
with him.

"She's right," Tracy added. "Whoever is doing this must track his victims
beforehand and Nat wouldn't fit his profile."

Nick looked deeply into Nat's eyes. "I just couldn't bear to have anything
happen to you."  

Nat walked over and hugged him. "Nothing is going to happen to me. I'll be
all right; besides, I know better than to let anyone into the apartment."

"All right." Nick hugged her back then released her. He turned to Tracy.
"Let's see what kind of information we can get on these businesses." 

"Okay, but there might be an easier place to start." Tracy said. She turned
to Nat. "Did you run across anyone that might be our killer?"

Nat thought for a minute. "Not that I can think of right off hand. Most of
the people I've dealt with have seemed very nice." She paused as a vague
memory teased at the back of her mind. "There was a man at the florist's,
but he wasn't threatening, just rather sullen."

"Do you know his name?" Nick prompted.

"Sorry, I don't think I've ever heard it." Nat replied. "Besides, just
because he wasn't as friendly as the person I dealt with, doesn't mean that
he's a killer."

"No, but it gives us somewhere to start." Tracy said. 

"Yes, and now that we have a pattern to work with, we can check both our
computers and, if they'll cooperate, the American FBI computers to see if
there are any other murders that might fit the pattern." Nick said,
enthusiastically. "If there are, and any of the employees at these three
companies were in the same location, we will probably have our killer."

Tracy reached for the files of the other victims and divided them between
her and Nick. "Here, with any luck we'll find out the rest of these hired
the same three companies." She said, as she handed half to Nick.

Just before sunset, they had their answer. All of the known victims had
indeed used the same three companies in planning their weddings. Buoyed by
at last having some good news to report when they went on shift, Nick
headed upstairs to shower and change, while Nat drove Tracy to her
apartment so that she too could shower and change. After she dropped Tracy
off, Nat went on to her office.

Both Nick and Tracy were early arriving for duty that night. Word of their
discovery brought a grim smile to Reese's face when they informed him of
it. He quickly arranged for them to obtain the needed court orders that
they required for gaining access to the personnel records of the three
businesses. By the time 1am rolled around, they were back in the station,
poring over the files and preparing the computerized inquiries they would
send out before the shift ended.  Secretly, they were each on edge hoping
that they would have their answer before the killer struck again. 

Nat was still up and waiting for Nick when he at last returned to the loft.
As they sat together on the couch, he filled her in on the events of the
night, while sipping a glass of blood. The sun was barely above the
horizon, when they made their way up the stairs for much need rest.

End Part 13

All comments to: cstar@pdq.net

Date: Mon, 22 Dec 1997 14:50:33 -0600
To: fkarchiver@fkfanfic.com
From: CLone Star Software <cstar@pdq.net>
Subject: In All Ways, One  (Part 14/20)

Disclaimers: Please See Part 1a.
In All Ways, One (Part 14/20)
By Nightlady
(c) 1997


(March 1)

Nat stood excitedly in the waiting area of Gate 7 at the airport. Amy's
flight was due to land in less than five minutes, and she could hardly wait
to see her niece. Nat had taken this last week before her wedding off, but
she was still on call, should any new victims of the serial killer be
discovered.  She smiled as she recalled Nick's last ditch attempt to
convince her to have Amy stay at the loft with them.  She had finally made
him see how much more difficult it would be to do that, and had convinced
him that she and Amy would be perfectly safe at her old apartment.  Since
her lease did not expire until the end of this month, staying there with
Amy and, later in the week, Sara too, was just more practical.


When the plane landed, shortly before 10:30am, and the passengers began to
disembark, Nat eagerly scanned the faces coming into the terminal. Still
remembering Amy as the child she had been the last time Nat had seen her,
just over a year after Richard's death, Nat was stunned when she at last
recognized the lovely young woman that hurried toward her. Instead of the
pretty eight year old little girl that Nat remembered, Amy was now a tall,
slender young teenager and, for a moment, a wave of sadness swept over Nat
as she thought of how proud her brother would have been of his lovely
daughter. 

"My gosh, I almost didn't recognize you!" Nat said, as she hugged her
niece. "I can't believe that you are so grownup!" Nat was surprised to find
that Amy was as tall as she was.

"Oh, Aunt Natty, it's so good to see you again!" Amy said. "I've missed
you!  Mom says that I've met Mr. Knight, but I'm not sure that I really
remember him." She looked around the waiting area.

"Well, you were only seven the last time you saw him," Nat said, as she
looped her arm through Amy's. "I'm not surprised that you don't remember
him that well."  The two of them headed for the elevator that would take
them to the baggage claim area. "After we take you stuff to the apartment,
we'll go over the Nick's loft and you can renew your acquaintance."

"Cool," Amy replied. "When can I see the dress I get to wear for the
wedding?" 

Nat smiled; Amy's excitement was catching. "We have an appointment at the
dress shop at three this afternoon. I hope you'll like the dress." Nat
still couldn't get over how grown up Amy had become.

"Oh, I know I will!" Amy gave Nat a big smile. "Thank you, for wanting me
to be in your wedding."

"Thank you, for being willing to be in it." Nat said as she lovingly gazed
on the young girl. "I can't think of anyone I would want more to be my
bridesmaid."

Happily, the airline had decided to actually send Amy's bags to the correct
place, and it was shortly before 12:30pm when Nat pulled her car into the
garage at the loft. 

"Why does Mr. Knight live in this old building?" Amy asked as they got out
of the car.

"Because he likes it. Wait until you see his loft, then you'll be wanting
to live in an old building like this, too." Nat said.

Amy eyed her doubtfully, but said nothing. As the lift stopped on the
second floor, Nat made sure she could see her niece's face when she opened
the door.
Amy's eyes grew wide and her mouth formed a silent "OHHH!" as she saw the
loft. 

Nat managed not to laugh out loud at the slightly awestruck look on the
young girl's face. 

"Ah, you're here," Nick's voice caused Amy to look in the direction of the
stairs. "Hello, Amy, I'm glad to see you again."

Amy stood speechless for a moment, then whispered to Nat, "Wow, he is
really gorgeous, Aunt Natty."  

"Yes, I think so." Nat whispered back, smiling. 

"Hello, Mr. Knight." Amy said, somewhat shyly, to Nick.

"You can call me Nick, if you'd like." Nick offered. 

"I don't think my mom would like that." Amy said. "She doesn't like me to
call adults by their first names."  Amy glanced at Nat. 

Nick nodded. "I don't want you to do anything that would upset your mom.
Tell you what, since your aunt and I are getting married, would you like to
call me Uncle Nick?"

Amy smiled, "That would be great Uncle Nicky!  I know that mom wouldn't
object to that."  

Nat smiled at the grin that being called Uncle Nicky brought to Nick's face.

 Amy looked around the loft, her eyes large with fascination. "This place
is neat!  Look at all this cool stuff!"  She frowned slightly, "Is there a
reason that it's so dark in here?"

Nat spoke quickly. "Yes, Nick has a severe allergy to sunlight. In order
not to aggravate it, he keeps the windows shuttered during the day.
Besides," she added, "since Nick works the night shift, he's usually asleep
during the day, anyway."

Amy thought for a moment. "That makes sense."

"Why don't you look around or you can watch TV, if you'd like?" Nick said.
He smiled a silent 'Thank you' to Nat.

"Yes, why don't you do that and I'll make you some lunch." Nat added.

"Okay," Amy said, heading for the large screen TV.

Nick showed Amy which remote controlled the TV and then joined Nat in the
kitchen where she was preparing sandwiches for Amy and herself. "She's
turned into quite a young lady, hasn't she?" He said.

"Hasn't she," Nat replied. "At least now I don't feel like the dress I
chose for her to wear is too grown up for her. She's going to look
wonderful in it." 

Nick nodded. "She is going to be a beautiful woman when she grows up," he
said as he encircled Nat's waist with his arms, "just like her aunt."

Nat leaned back against him. "I knew there was a reason I was marrying
you." She teased.

Nick chuckled and hugged her. 


Nat sat in bed, pillows fluffed up behind her, a novel she had been trying
for months to find the time to read on her lap, and a cup of hot chocolate
in her hand.  She was tired but, to her surprise, had found sleep elusive.
'Who would have thought I'd get used to having Nick next to me so quickly?'
She thought as she sipped her chocolate. 

Sighing, she leaned back into the pillows and thought about the day just
past.  Amy had looked wonderful in her bridesmaid dress. The deep sapphire
blue of the material had almost matched the color of her eyes, and the
empire style had made her look very grown up, without being too adult for
her.  Amy had seemed delighted with her appearance, and the few, small
alterations that the dress required would be finished by Wednesday. 

Putting her empty cup and her book on the table, Nat turned off the light
and settled down under the covers. Pulling some of the pillows to her side,
she tried to pretend that it was Nick next to her. As she drifted off to
sleep, Nat wondered if Nick would miss her in the morning, when he tried to
rest.


Nick and Tracy were looking over the last of the interviews that the
dayshift had done, with the various employees of the three businesses all
the victims in their current case had patronized.  It seemed to Tracy that
all they had done, in the past several days, was either interview employees
or read the interviews that others had done.  Unhappily, there was nothing
in any of the interviews that clearly singled out any one person as the
killer, although it had enabled them to narrow the field of suspects to a
mere half-dozen.  The reports from some of the other provinces, on any
similar crimes, were starting to trickle in too, but so far without any
hits.  The information from the Americans was yet to arrive.

Glancing at the clock, Tracy sighed. It was almost 2:00am and they were
supposed to give Reese an update on the case at 2:30am. Somehow, Tracy
figured that only being able to narrow the field to six suspects was not
going to overly impress the Capt. The only good news was that no new
victims had been discovered. 'Maybe we'll get lucky and catch our guy
before he strikes again.' She mused.  She glanced at Nick as he frowned
over the information in the report he was looking at. 

Nick laid down the report and ran his hands over his face. "Nothing
conclusive in any of these." He said, disgustedly. "Just once, I wouldn't
mind a case that was easy to solve."

Tracy chuckled. "I know what you mean.  I guess we get 'blessed' with the
hard ones because we are so very good at solving them." She smiled as Nick
snorted at this remark. "I guess we should be grateful that there haven't
been any new victims. Maybe knowing that we are checking out the employment
records has scared our killer."

"Or maybe we just haven't found the bodies yet." Nick said glumly.  "The
last victim died just six days before her wedding. If our killer has struck
again, it means that Nat could still be in danger."

Tracy paused as she considered this. "But she is staying with you at the
loft, isn't she?"

"Not this week. With Amy here, Nat moved back to her apartment." Nick shook
his head. "If it weren't for my problem, Amy could have stayed at the loft,
and I'd know that Nat was safe."

"Nick," Tracy chided, "even if you weren't what you are, it would still be
awkward at best to have a teenage girl stay at the loft."  

"Yeah, I suppose you're right." Nick conceded. "But I still wish that they
were where I can keep an eye on them."

Tracy hesitated then plunged ahead. "Maybe you could ask Vachon to keep an
eye on Nat's place?" 

Nick looked at her with relief.  "Do you think he would? He's not much for
responsibility, you know?"

"I'll be glad to call and ask him." Tracy said, reaching for the phone. "I
know that he admires Nat and I really think he would be willing to help.
He's gotten a bit better about the responsibility thing lately."

"Please, do ask him. If no bodies turn up by, say the 4th, I think Nat will
be okay." Nick said. "And please tell him that I really would appreciate
his doing this, but I will understand if he wants to refuse." Nick stood,
"I'll go make copies of these reports while you're doing that so we'll be
ready for our meeting with Reese." 

Tracy dialed Vachon's number as she watched Nick head for the copy machine.
 After only two rings, she heard Vachon answer. Quickly she explained the
situation to him and to her joy, Vachon volunteered to watch out for Nat
before Tracy had to ask.  After promising to stop by the church after work,
Tracy gathered her notes and met Nick as he was returning with the copies.

"It's all set." She said smiling at Nick. "And I didn't even have to ask.
As soon as I explained everything to him, Vachon offered to keep watch on
Nat's building."

Nick visibly relaxed. "Thanks, Tracy. I'll be sure to see Vachon and thank
him."

End Part 14

All comments to cstar@pdq.net

Date: Mon, 22 Dec 1997 14:51:31 -0600
To: fkarchiver@fkfanfic.com
From: CLone Star Software <cstar@pdq.net>
Subject: In All Ways, One (Part 15/20)

Disclaimers: Please See Part 1a.

In All Ways, One (Part 15/20)
By Nightlady
(c) 1997


(March 4)

It was almost five in the afternoon and the sunlight was fading, when Nat
and Amy finally got back to Nat's apartment. They had been out and on the
run since early that morning. In addition to making sure that she had
enough food in the apartment for Sara's arrival the next evening, Nat had
needed to take care of a variety of last minute details for the wedding.
They had picked up both Amy's bridesmaid dress and Nat's wedding gown from
the dress shop. Nat carefully hung both dresses in the large hall closet.
Nat had tried the dress on at the shop and she still couldn't believe how
nice it looked. Amy had taken one look at her and gushed "Aunt Natty, you
look absolutely beautiful! Uncle Nicky is gonna flip when he sees you in
that!"  

Now several hours and numerous stops later, Nat sank gratefully onto the
sofa. She still had to fix something for dinner, but that could wait for a
few minutes.  Amy came back into the living room, having put away her own
purchases and flopped into a chair. "How long before we eat?"

Nat smiled and chuckled. She'd forgotten that teenagers seemed to have an
inexhaustible supply of energy, as well as hearty appetites. "Just let
you're poor, old aunt catch her breath and I'll start cooking." Nat
brightened, "Or, we could order in Chinese." 

"Neat, I'd like that!" Amy said.

Nat said a silent prayer of thanksgiving and reached for the cordless
phone. "What would you like?" She said as she started to dial.

Forty-five minutes later, Nat forced herself off of the couch.  Amy had
gone in to take a quick shower before the food arrived, and Nat could hear
the water running as she went into the kitchen. Taking the teakettle over
to the sink, Nat slowly filled it to be sure that she didn't pull all the
cold water from Amy's shower. Nat had just put the kettle on to boil, when
the doorbell rang. As she headed for her purse, Nat heard the shower shut
off. Nat grabbed her wallet and, after peeking though the small spy hole
and seeing a man looking down at a box full of take out food containers
that he was holding, opened the door. "Just set it on the table, if you
would," she said, standing to one side to allow the delivery person entry.
As the man passed her, she did a double take. "Mr. Bako?" She said,
confused to see the florist at her door. "What are you doing here?" Nat's
eyes widened in shock as the smiling florist suddenly jabbed a needle into
her arm.  As she felt herself slipping into unconsciousness, Nat was
vaguely aware that her beeper was going off.

Nick was preparing to leave for the precinct, when his cell phone rang.
He'd developed a very uneasy feeling about Nat, in just the past few
minutes.  Twice, he'd picked up the phone to call her, just to reassure
himself that she was okay.  Both times, however, he'd set the phone down
with out dialing.  Now he grabbed it from the table.  The officer, on the
other end, relayed a message from Tracy that he should meet her near the
lakefront. It appeared that two more victims had just been discovered
there.  As he drove toward the crime scene location, Nick used his cell
phone to call Vachon at the number that Tracy had provided. Nick's opinion
of the young Spaniard went up several notches when Vachon instantly
realized that the discovery of two more victims meant that Nat might still
be in danger. Vachon's willingness to come to the crime scene and follow
Nat home from there, did help to relieve some of Nick's anxiety.

Pulling up to the crime scene area, Nick noted that Nat had not yet
arrived.  Frowning, he got out of the car and headed toward Tracy. He
noticed that she seemed to be even paler than usual. "You feeling okay,
Tracy?" He asked as he reached her.

Tracy blushed and managed a weak smile. "I'm fine."  At Nick's quizzical
look she added. "Nat was right, our killer's getting more vicious in his
methods. I...I didn't react very well to the sight."

"It's never easy to get used to violent death. You're doing fine." Nick
said understandingly.  "Are you sure it's our killer?"

"Looks that way," Tracy replied. "We've got two females, both killed
elsewhere and then dumped, and at least one of them is wearing an
engagement ring. The killer is getting sloppy, too. He left at piece of the
rope on one of the victim's wrist."  Tracy looked over Nick's shoulder. "I
wonder what's taking Nat so long. I called her office even before I had
them call you." 


Before Nick could respond, Tracy's phone rang. "Vetter... How long
ago?...Yeah, he's right here...No, she's not...I'll tell him. Bye."

Tracy looked at Nick. "That was the coroner's office." She said
uncomfortably. "Nat never answered her page. They were wondering if she had
been with you and just came straight here."

Nick didn't answer, but pulled out his own phone and punched in Nat's number.


Amy finished drying her hair and turned off the blow dryer. A puzzled
expression crossed her face as a sound she couldn't quite identify reached
her.  Shrugging into a warm, fuzzy bathrobe, she cautiously opened the
door. A smile crossed her face as she realized the sound was the whistling
of a teakettle. "Aunt Natty must be really worn out if she's sleeping
through that racket." She said chuckling. She stepped in to the hall, and
headed for the kitchen. As she reached the living area, she was surprised
not to see Nat asleep on the couch. Amy paused, in the dining area, she
could see a box with take out containers and the aroma of Chinese food
wafted into her nostrils. Moving to the kitchen, she turned off the burner
under the teakettle. 'Maybe she went into her room to lie down.' Amy
thought, feeling slightly uneasy.  The sudden shrill of the phone caused
her to jump. She waited through three rings before she lifted the receiver.
 "Hello?" She felt a sense of relief as she recognized Nick's voice. 
Not really hearing what he was saying, Amy interrupted. "Uncle Nicky,
something's wrong here! I was in the shower and when I came out the
teakettle was boiling, there's food on the table and I can't find Aunt
Natty anywhere!"

Nick felt his stomach drop as he listened to Amy's words. Trying to sound
calm, he spoke to her. "Amy, are you on the cordless phone?...Good, I want
you to go to the front door and make sure that it is locked...Okay, I want
you to put on the night bolt...Good. Don't leave the apartment and don't
let anyone inside until I get there." 

Nick broke the connection. Turning to Tracy he explained the situation, and
hurried to his car. A few minutes and numerous traffic violations later, he
was at Nat's front door. He had spent the entire drive over berating
himself for not having called earlier, when he'd had the feeling that
something was amiss.   A very frightened Amy opened the door for him and,
after calming her and trying to reassure her that everything would be okay,
Nick looked around the apartment. A slight glint of gold under a small
table near the door caught his eye. Stooping, he reached under the table
and pulled out Nat's wallet. Nick stood slowly, feeling fear for Nat racing
through him. The ringing of his cell phone finally broke though his daze. 

"Nick," Tracy said as he answered the phone, "you need to get back over
here as quickly as possible.  I've sent a uniform car with a female officer
over to Nat's place to stay with Amy. They should be there any minute."

"Why? Have you heard something?" Nick asked, dreading her answer.

"The Capt. just brought a Malcolm Durrier over here. He's the man Nat
mentioned that works at the florist's." Tracy paused for a moment. "Durrier
claims to know who the killer is."

Nick could hear the uniformed officer as she entered Nat's building. "I'm
on my way." He told Tracy.  Pausing only to introduce Amy to the young
uniform officer that would be staying with her, Nick left the building. On
the street he paused for only a moment, before stepping into the shadows
and taking to the air. If Durrier had any idea where Nat might be, Nick was
not going to waste time dealing with traffic. 

Nick landed in the woods near where the crime scene was located. He swiftly
walked toward the spot where Reese, Tracy, and a very unhappy looking man
were standing. He was growing more concerned by the minute, as during his
brief flight he had been unable to get any sense of Nat through their bond.

Reese turned as Nick approached. One look at the blonde detective's face
made Reese impose himself between Nick and Durrier. "Hold on Knight, Mr.
Durrier is here to help us, not as a suspect." Reese said as Nick came to a
halt in front of him. 

Confusion was clear in Nick's expression. "Tracy said Durrier claims to
know who is doing the killings. TELL ME!" Nick took a deep breath and
continued in a slightly calmer voice. "Nat's missing, and if those poor
women over there are victims ten and eleven, it means that the killer is
after a new victim who is three days away from being married. Just like Nat
is."

Reese placed a hand on Nick's shoulder. "I know." He turned to Durrier,
"Please tell Det. Knight what you just told me."

Durrier wrung his hands, " I think that my brother-in-law, Charles Bako,
may have something to do with these awful murders." He looked around at the
three faces that surrounded him. "Five years ago, Charles was suppose to be
married but, two weeks before the wedding, his fiancee called it off.
Charles was devastated; they'd been together for two and a half years and
after this happened he spent almost a year in a deep depression."

"Why do you think that he is involved with these murders?" Tracy asked,
puzzled.

Durrier looked down at the ground. "About a year and a half later, Charles
suddenly decided to move from where he was living in Austin, Texas and come
to Toronto. I only found out earlier today, that there was a string of
unsolved murders of women there just prior to Charles' leaving."  

"How did you come by this information?" Nick asked, impatiently. 

"I happened to be talking to a friend who lives there. I told him about
what was happening here, and he mentioned the murders to me."

Nick nodded, "The first set of murders occurred two and a half years after
his wedding plans fell through, and it's now two and a half years later."
He looked into Durrier's eyes. "My fiancee is missing. We're supposed to be
married on Saturday, three days from now. I think there is a strong
possibility that your brother-in-law has taken her. Please, if you have any
idea of where he might be..."

Durrier paled. "Charles has a cabin, northeast of Lake Simcoe, off of route
503.  He might be there. He's been away a lot the past couple of months,
comes into the shop late. I guess he could have been traveling back and
forth."

"Can you give us an address, or anything that would help us to narrow down
the location?" Reese asked. "There's a lot of places a cabin could be up
there." 

"I'm sorry, I've never been there." Durrier said, miserably. He turned to
Nick. "I wish I could be of more assistance."

"If he's got to drive at least an hour, he's probably been drugging his
victims." Tracy said. 

Nick turned in her direction. "Come on Tracy, let's head up that way. Maybe
someone in the area will have an idea where the cabin is." 

Reese started to protest, but then stopped. While it was very unlikely that
Knight and Vetter would actually be able to find the cabin, it would at
least let Knight feel like he was doing something to find Natalie Lambert.
"Okay, you two go on ahead, I'll call and see if I can get you some local
backup."

Nick nodded and grabbing Tracy's arm, left. 

As soon as they were away from the crowd near the crime scene, Nick had
Tracy pull her car over to the curb.  Nick had already announced his
intention to head for the area by air, and Tracy had to agree with his
thinking. Time might be vital in saving Nat, and Tracy knew that Nick could
cover the distance, by air, far quicker than she could drive it.

Nick had just headed for an alley, when he sensed a presence. Turning, he
was surprised to find LaCroix standing a few feet away. 

"I sensed a sudden burst of panic from Dr. Lambert a while ago. By the time
I arrived at her home, you were already there." LaCroix said, quietly. "I
came to offer you my assistance in searching for her."

Nick looked at his master, his father, and hesitated only a second. "Thank
you. I would be glad for any help."

"Good, then you won't mind if I tag along too." Vachon said as he landed a
few feet away. "I took a swing by Dr. Lambert's place, in case she was
still there, when I saw you take off from there," Vachon explained. "I
followed you back to the crime scene, overheard what was going on and
guessed that you weren't about to bother with a car." 

Nick smiled grimly, "I don't mind your help in the least. Let's go."

It only took the three vampires ten minutes to arrive in the general area
of Bako's cabin. Landing briefly, it was decided that Vachon would search
the area adjacent to the roadway and keep watch for Tracy, while LaCroix
and Nick looked farther afield. 

End Part 15

All comments to: cstar@pdq.net

Date: Mon, 22 Dec 1997 14:52:41 -0600
To: fkarchiver@fkfanfic.com
From: CLone Star Software <cstar@pdq.net>
Subject: In All Ways, One (Part 16/20)

Disclaimers: Please See Part 1a.

In All Ways, One (Part 16/20)
By Nightlady
(c) 1997


Nat first became aware of lying on a hard surface as consciousness slowly
returned to her. Her head ached, and her mouth felt fuzzy from the drug she
had been given.  She lay unmoving for a few minutes, listening and trying
to determine if she was alone. At last, she carefully opened her eyes.
Although there seemed to be little light in the room, Nat could make out
the vague shapes of what appeared to be kitchen appliances. She was lying
on a wooden table; her arms and legs bound to the table legs.  Turning her
head, she saw the ecru colored rope used to bind her and the memory of
Charles Bako stabbing a needle into her arm returned. A wave of fear swept
through Nat as she thought of how the other women had died, but was quickly
replaced by a growing rage. She closed her eyes and drew in a deep breath.
"NO. I am not going to lie here and wait for that madman to kill me!" She
whispered. "Not after all Nick and I have been through." 

Opening her eyes, she was somewhat surprised to realize that she could, in
fact, make out a number of details about the room. It was indeed a kitchen,
but as the sickly, sweet odor of death, combined with the coppery scent of
blood reached her nostrils, Nat knew beyond any doubt that this was were
Bako had brought his victims. She also became aware of a faint drumming
sound that seemed to be coming from somewhere nearby.  Turning her head to
look around the kitchen, as much as her current position would permit, Nat
failed to see any source for the odd, yet somehow familiar sound.  Not
wanting to waste what time she had to attempt escape on figuring out
exactly what the sound was, Nat dismissed it and turned her attention to
the ropes holding her prisoner.

After carefully testing each rope, Nat found that the rope binding her left
wrist was a bit looser than the one on her right wrist. Sliding her body as
far to the left side of the table as was possible, ignoring the pain in her
right shoulder and wrist that this caused, Nat was able to feel along the
edge of the table.  A grim smile formed on her lips as she found a rough,
jagged area. Moving carefully, Nat began to rub the rope against this area.
 She could feel the sweat break out on her as she strained her body to
perform this act.  "Nick, where are you? Do you even know that I'm
missing?" Nat whispered to herself as she labored to fray the cord. "Please
don't let anything have happened to Amy, and please let Nick find me before
it's too late." She prayed. As she redoubled her efforts to free herself,
Nat forced her mind from her situation and thought of Nick.  She'd always
seem to draw strength from his presence and she hoped that thinking of him
would help her to find the strength she now needed.


Nick was airborne, searching for anything that might resemble a cabin, when
he felt the tenuous touch of Nat's mind.  Instantly, relief rushed through
him. She was alive!  Although he knew that she couldn't hear him, he spoke
to her. "Hold on, my love. I'll find you."  Turning in the direction he
could now sense her to be, Nick sped through the dark night sky.  Reaching
out with his mind, he felt LaCroix's presence ahead of him and much closer
to Nat.  Using his bond with LaCroix, Nick homed in on the master vampire. 

LaCroix felt Nicholas' touch, and through it, the faint vibration of
Natalie Lambert's mine.  Moments later, LaCroix spotted the small cabin
that was nearly hidden by the surrounding trees.  Landing near to it,
LaCroix listened carefully.  A look of satisfaction crossed his face as his
keen senses detected the drum like sounds of two mortal heartbeats
emanating from the cabin. One seemed to be that of a person sleeping, while
the other was somewhat rapid. He readily recognized the rapid heartbeat as
belonging to Natalie.  LaCroix hesitated, tempted for a moment to leave
Natalie to whatever fate the possessor of the second heartbeat had in mind
for her.  He quickly decided against that option, knowing that Nicholas
would be arriving before such a fate could be carried out.  If Nicholas
found his master standing by and allowing harm to come to his mortal pet,
forgiveness might never come.  'Besides, if she dies, Nicholas will never
know that his actions would have condemned her to become that which he
hated so...a vampire like himself.' LaCroix mused.

Moving like a puff of smoke in the dark night, LaCroix was swiftly at the
cabin door.  Soundlessly, he forced the frail lock and slipped inside. He
found himself in the kitchen area of the cabin, and could see Natalie
Lambert bound to the wooden table in front of him. He watched, with no
little admiration, as she worked to fray the cord that held her left wrist.
 As he watched her from where he stood, behind her head and out of her
field of vision, she suddenly froze.

Nat wished that she could manage to wipe the sweat that trickled into her
eyes. Both her wrists were raw from the rope, the left from chaffing as Nat
attempted to free herself and the right from where the taut rope cut into
it.  Nat was furiously scraping the rope along the rough edge of the table
when she felt something like a prickling along her spine and suddenly knew
that she was being observed. Terror at the thought that Bako had slipped in
behind her caused her to freeze.  Even as she did this, however, she felt a
deep sense of calm come over her. "Nick!" She breathed, knowing that he was
somewhere close by and would soon be with her. She gave an involuntary yelp
of surprise when a voice suddenly spoke in her ear. 

"Very good, Dr. Lambert." LaCroix said. "You seem to be progressing along
the path that your and Nicholas' actions have placed you quite well."

Nat felt her heart slow as she recognized LaCroix's voice. "LaCroix, please
untie me." She whispered. "The man that has been committing all the so
called 'Bride's Murders' brought me here. If he comes back and I'm still
here, he'll kill me." She nearly wept as she felt the rope holding her left
wrist break as LaCroix easily snapped it. LaCroix's next words both
confused and brought renewed fear to her.

"He IS here," LaCroix said with a hint of laughter in his voice. "You might
even be able to hear his heartbeat in the next room if you try."

The drum like sound that she had heard earlier suddenly registered in Nat's
mind. It was a heartbeat, just like the hundreds she had listened to with
her stethoscope during her medical training. "I don't understand. How can I
hear his heartbeat in here?" Nat said, confused.

"How indeed?" LaCroix finished removing the ropes that held Natalie to the
table. "Perhaps, if you consider the possibilities for awhile, you will
figure out the answer yourself." LaCroix tilted his head as he sensed that
Nicholas was near and would soon be with them. "I would suggest that you
keep this to yourself until you do.  After all, Nicholas does so love you
for your mortality."

Nat slowly sat up. Her head was throbbing and both her wrists stung where
they had been rubbed raw by the rope.  She turned to look at LaCroix,
intending to demand to know what he meant, when a movement near the door to
the kitchen caught her eye. At the same moment, she felt as if a warm,
secure blanket of love had wrapped her in its embrace. Tears filled her
eyes as she all but fell into Nick's outstretched arms.

Nick raced into the cabin, to see Nat sitting on a wooden table with
LaCroix at her side. As Nick reached her, she all but collapsed against his
chest.  Holding her tightly against him, Nick buried his face in her hair,
all the while murmuring her name.  He could feel her body tremble as she
sobbed silently, and he felt his own eyes fill with tears of relief. 

Nat clung to Nick's shirt, inhaling his scent, feeling the firm muscles of
his chest beneath her cheek. Held in his tight embrace, Nat allowed herself
the tears she had held back. She could hear Nick murmuring her name, his
voice breaking with love and concern for her, and that sound gave her the
strength she needed to quell her tears.  Lifting her head to look into his
beloved face, she managed a small smile. "I'm okay, Nick. He didn't hurt
me."  She could hear her own voice break with emotion as she spoke. "I...I
think...LaCroix says he's here in the cabin." Fear showed in her eyes as
she continued, "I don't know if he's hurt Amy..." She stopped, unable to
speak.

"Amy is safe. A female officer is staying with her." Nick reassured Nat,
and saw the relief that flooded her face at this knowledge. Nick kissed Nat
softly. "As for Bako," Nick's expression hardened into a cold mask of
anger, "yes he's here." Releasing her only long enough to remove his coat
and wrap her in it, Nick then helped Nat from the table and led her to the
door.  As they exited the cabin, Nick looked up and softly called, "Vachon."  

It was only a few moments later when the young vampire emerged from the
woods.  As he saw Nat standing in Nick's embrace, Vachon broke into a large
grin. "Glad to see that you're alright, Dr. Lambert."  He paused, "He's
inside?"

Nick nodded. "Yes," Nick handed Vachon his cell phone, "call Tracy and let
her know where we are and have her call for backups to meet us here."  Nick
looked down at Nat before continuing. "Then take Nat down to the road and
take care of her until Tracy gets here."

Vachon took the phone and dialed. "I'll be glad to," he said as he offered
Nat his arm. 

Nat knew that Nick had to arrest Bako and, as reluctant as she was to leave
the shelter of his arms, she smiled and accepted Vachon's help in moving
across the small clearing.  Whatever had enabled her to see so well in the
dark kitchen seemed to have vanished, and with exhaustion rapidly
overtaking her, Nat was more than grateful for Vachon's assistance.

Vachon lead Nat to the dirt drive that connected the property where the
cabin stood to the main road. He hated to make her walk; he could sense
that she was quickly running out of energy, but he wasn't sure how she
would react if he offered to carry her.  Even though she stumbled
occasionally, Nat never complained, showing an inner strength to Vachon
that made him admire her even more. 

At last they reached the road and sat down to await Tracy's arrival.

Nick returned to the cabin and, to his surprise, found LaCroix still in the
kitchen.  Nick had expected that the elder vampire would have left by now.
A moment's concern that LaCroix had dealt with Bako in his own way was
relieved when Nick heard the steady beating of Bako's heart from the
adjacent room.

"So Nicholas, what now?" LaCroix asked. "Are you going to play policeman
and arrest this mortal, or are you going to punish him, as you should, for
daring to touch that which is yours?"

LaCroix's words stirred the beast in Nick. A part of him wanted to rip Bako
apart, not only because he had dared to endanger Nat, but to avenge the
needless deaths of the other women. Forcing his beast to retreat, Nick
turned to look at LaCroix. "I am going to arrest him. He will pay according
to society's rules for his actions."

LaCroix shook his head, "Nicholas, we are not bound by 'society's rules'.
Be true to what you are, seek your revenge!" He stepped closer to his son.
"Can you tell me that you do not wish to see the life fade from this man's
eyes? Or perhaps you are not as 'in love' with Dr. Lambert as you claim to
be." 

Nick glared at LaCroix. "It is BECAUSE I love Natalie that I will not allow
myself to seek personal revenge. I choose to live by the rules of mortal
society, whether you like it or not."  

"Very well, Nicholas, since I cannot make you see the folly of that I will
say goodnight." With those words, LaCroix left.

Nick sighed, then removed his gun from its holster and moved toward the
next room. Carefully opening the door that separated the kitchen from the
main room of the cabin, Nick easily spotted Bako lying on the couch, an
empty whisky bottle on the floor beside him. For a moment, Nick allowed
himself to regret that he could not simply kill the man, but then he took a
deep breath, re-holstered his gun, and removed a set of handcuffs from his
belt. Moving with faster than human speed, Nick had Bako safely handcuffed
before he had fully awakened from his drunken stupor.  As Bako became aware
of what was happening to him, he began to cry. Nick stood watching Bako, a
look of disgust on his face.  About ten minutes later, Nick heard the sound
of footsteps approaching the cabin. A glance out the front window showed
Tracy, and several RCMP's heading for the front door. "He's on the couch,"
Nick said, indicating Bako. "He kidnapped Dr. Natalie Lambert and was
holding her prisoner here."  Tracy gave Nick a smile and a quick squeeze on
the arm as she entered. 

It took only a few more minutes before Bako was led to the RCMP's waiting
car and Nick was, at last, free to return to where Nat waited with Vachon. 

As Nick and Tracy approached the spot where Tracy had left her car, Vachon
moved from where he stood leaning against the front fender to greet them.
"I take it that the excitement is over for tonight?" He said. 

"Yes. Thank you for your help." Nick said, his tone clearly indicating his
sincerity.

"Glad I was able to help," Vachon replied. "Dr. Lambert is a nice lady. I'm
glad she wasn't hurt."

Nick gave him a nod and then turned to go to Nat who had emerged from the
back seat of Tracy's car and was coming toward where the three of them stood.
Tracy and Vachon watched as Nick reached Nat, took her in his arms, and
kissed her tenderly.  "You better get on over there," Vachon said, "Dr.
Lambert's going to want to get back to her niece."

Tracy nodded. "Yeah, and I imagine that she and Nick will want some time
alone." She smiled at Vachon. "I could stop by your place when I get off
shift..."

Vachon smiled and kissed Tracy lightly. "I'll be there, waiting." Giving
her face a gentle caress, he took to the air.


End Part 16

All comments to: cstar@pdq.net

Date: Mon, 22 Dec 1997 14:53:54 -0600
To: fkarchiver@fkfanfic.com
From: CLone Star Software <cstar@pdq.net>
Subject: In All Ways, One (Part 17/20)

Disclaimers: Please See Part 1a.

In All Ways, One (Part 17/20)
By Nightlady
(c) 1997


Nat had spent the time, waiting for Nick and Tracy, thinking over what
LaCroix had said. His words made no sense unless, somehow, she had been
infected with the catalyst that made one a vampire.  Nat knew, that if this
were the case, Nick clearly had no idea that it could occur. As much as she
wanted to tell him about what LaCroix had said, she decided to wait until
she could run a blood test on herself.  If there were nothing more to
LaCroix's words than an attempt to cause her to worry, then there would be
no reason to let Nick even know about it. She thought about asking Vachon
if he had ever heard of such a thing occurring, but rejected that idea.
'Better to check out my blood before I say anything.' She thought.  Leaning
her head back against the seat, Nat closed her eyes and tried to relax. She
had slipped into a light doze, when Vachon's movement brought her back to
wakefulness. When she saw Nick pause to speak with Vachon, Nat slipped from
the car, intending to join them.  As Nick approached her, she felt her
heart quicken and her spirits lighten. She eagerly went into his arms and
met his lips with her own. The force of the love between them soothed her
and she found a sense of peace. 


Tracy returned to the car and the three of them got back inside. Tracy
drove while Nick and Nat sat in the back seat. The drive back to Toronto
was a quiet one.  Nat leaned against Nick and closed her eyes, pretending
to doze while she considered the strange sensations she had experienced in
the cabin and LaCroix's words to her.  Nick, for the time being, was
content to merely hold her safely in his arms and converse quietly with
Tracy.  Tracy finally pulled her car to a stop in front of Nat's building.  

"I'll head on over to the station and fill in Capt. Reese." Tracy said. 

"Thanks, Tracy." Nick said gratefully. "Tell him I'll be in before morning.
I want to make sure that Nat and Amy are settled first." 

"Sure Nick," Tracy said, smiling. "Take your time. I know Reese will
understand." Giving a wave, she pulled away.

Nick took Nat's arm and they went into the building and up to Nat's
apartment.  Nick unlocked the door and then stood aside for Nat to enter. 

As Nat entered, Amy all but flew across the room and into her arms. "Aunt
Natty!" She cried as she hugged her. "You're here! Are you okay? Did that
man hurt you?"   

Nat hugged her niece tightly. "I'm fine, Amy," she said at last. Nat could
see the young policewoman watching from across the room. Looking down, into
Amy's now upturned face, Nat managed a smile. "Everything is all right now.
 Nick and Tracy arrested the man that took me, so we don't have to worry
about anything."  

"I knew Uncle Nicky would find you." Amy said smiling. "He said that he
would bring you home and he has." She released Nat and crossed to Nick.
"I'm awfully glad that Aunt Nat's marrying you." Amy said.

"So am I," Nick said with a conspiratorial grin. "Your aunt's had a rough
evening. Why don't we all go into the living room and sit down?" Nick
walked to where Nat still stood and putting his arm around her shoulders,
led her into the living area.  

While Nat willingly sank onto the couch, Nick thanked the policewoman and
saw her to the door.  When he returned, he took a seat next to Nat, while
Amy sat in a chair opposite them.  Nat gave Nick a warm, loving look and
reached for his hand.  Nick spent the next hour explaining, to both Nat and
Amy, how Durrier had provided the information that had allowed him to find
Nat.  He also tried to explain to Amy that Bako was a very ill man who had
tried to relieve his own unhappiness by destroying what should have been
one of the happiest moments in other people's lives.  At last Amy,
reassured that everything was indeed okay, head off to bed leaving Nick and
Nat alone.

After Amy had left, Nick pulled a willing Nat into his arms.  He was
concerned by the somewhat haunted look that she still had.  "Nat, are you
sure that you are okay?" 

Nat's thoughts were whirling in her head. Should she tell Nick what LaCroix
had said to her inside the cabin? Should she wait until she could run a
blood test on herself to see if there was any physical indication that she
might have what she referred to as the vampire elements in her blood?
'Wait until you know that there is a problem.' She decided at last. "I'm
just tired. Like you said to Amy earlier, I've had a rough evening." She
smiled briefly at Nick. 

Nick nodded. He still felt that something was wrong, but he trusted Nat and
knew that she would tell him when she was ready. "Okay." He looked at the
time. "I'm going to have to go see Reese. Are you going to be okay here
with just Amy? You can both come to the loft if you want." 

Nat could hear the concern in his voice, and the love. She felt tears
threaten and took a deep breath. "We'll be fine. I'm going to go to bed,
I'm tired enough to be able to sleep."  She sat up. "You better get over to
the station if you're going to make it back to the loft before dawn."

Nick stood and Nat rose with him. Together they walked to the front door.
Just as Nick was getting ready to open the door, Nat suddenly reached up
and pulled his head down into a deep kiss. "I love you." She said simply
when they at last broke the embrace. 

Nick gently caressed her face. "And I love you. I don't think I realized
just how much until I thought I might lose you tonight." He looked into her
wide, blue eyes. "Nat I don't know what I would have done if I'd been too
late."

Nat laid her fingers against his lips. "You weren't. It's all over."

Nick nodded and with a final kiss, left to go to the station.

As soon as she closed the door behind him, Nat felt tears flowing down her
face. She went into her bedroom and after closing and locking the room's
door, opened the small fireproof box in which she kept her research on
Nick. Removing the blood test reports for the past three months, she turned
on her beside lamp and sat down on the bed. Each report consisted of two
sheets of paper, the first sheet showing the results for Nick's blood and
the second the results for a control sample. Nat had always used a sample
of her own blood for this.  With slightly trembling hands, Nat looked at
the December report. The top sheet showed what for Nick were normal results
and a glance at the second sheet revealed no sign of the vampire element in
Nat's blood. She glanced at January's report for Nick, again nothing
remarkable in it. The report on her own blood did, however, show some
changes in the normal values, very slight and something that might have
only been the result of less than perfect calibration of the testing
apparatus. When she reached the February report, Nat felt a cold knot form
in her stomach. While Nick's report was the same, the values for Nat's
blood sample were definitely not normal. For the vampire factors what had
always read zero, and even in January's less than one percent now showed a
figure that translated to approximately three percent of Nat's blood
containing the vampire factor. 'Maybe it's just a temporary effect from our
lovemaking.' Nat thought. 'If that's the case, then a sample from today
should show a decrease in it.' Nat was glad, for the first time that week,
that she and Nick had not made love recently. After one last look at them,
Nat replaced the papers in the safety box and locked it.

Nat took a deep breath and went to the phone. Dialing her friend at the
university, she arranged for him to stop by the apartment on his way home.
That accomplished, Nat went to her medical bag and removed a blood tube,
and syringe. Carefully, she drew a sample of her own blood into the tube.
Once she had safely disposed of the syringe, she labeled the tube and sat
down to await her friend's arrival.

It was nearly 4am when Nat at last crawled into her bed. The sample was on
its way to the university, and in less than twenty-four hours she would
know if she was fated to become a vampire. As she lay waiting for sleep to
claim her, Nat decided that she would wait for the results before she
talked to Nick.

Nick finished at the station and drove back to the loft. After feeding
Sydney, he climbed the stairs to the bedroom and stripping off his
clothing, lay down on the bed.  Something was bothering Nat, he could sense
it. He thought about returning to her apartment. There was enough time to
get there before sunrise, but he rejected the idea. 'I have to trust her to
let me know what is wrong when she is ready to do so. If I try to force her
to tell me, I'm no better than LaCroix.'  Resigned, he closed his eyes and
slept.

It was nearly 10am when Nat awoke. Glancing at the clock, she swore softly
and hurried to the shower. There were so many things that she had to do
today, and Sara was due to arrive at the airport this evening. As Nat came
out of the shower, a knock sounded at the bedroom door. 

"Aunt Natty?" Amy called, "I brought you a cup of coffee."

Nat slipped on her robe and opened the door. "Amy, you are wonderful! A cup
of coffee is just what I need."  Nat stood to the side smiling as Amy
carried the cup over to the bedside table and sat it down. 

"I figured after last night you needed to sleep," Amy said as she sat down
on the bed. 

"Thanks, I did." Nat said as she crossed to the bed and sat next to Amy.
She picked up the coffee cup and took a swallow. "Oh, this is good. You
make excellent coffee, Amy." The hot liquid was precisely what Nat needed.
"Give me about fifteen minutes and I'll be ready to get started." 

"What to we have to do today?" Amy asked.

"Just a lot of little things." Nat replied. " And I guess I had better
first check and see if Bako's shop is still going to be able to honor our
contract with him in jail." Nat frowned. The last thing she needed was to
have to try and arrange for a different florist two days before the wedding. 

"Okay, I'll leave you to get dressed." Amy said. Almost skipping, she left.

Nat let the smile fall from her face. She hoped that she could stay busy
enough today to keep her mind from the possible test results, but somehow
she doubted it.

 To her relief, a quick phone call had provided the information that
Charles Bako had only worked at the flower shop. The shop actually belonged
to Malcom Durrier, who after apologizing profusely to Nat, had assured her
that the flowers she had ordered would be delivered as scheduled. Leaving
the apartment, Amy and Nat had gone first to the Four Seasons. There, Nat
had given final approval to the arrangements for the wedding and reception.
Later in the afternoon, she had stopped by a jeweler's where she retrieved
the gold chain and heart shaped locket that she had ordered for Amy's
bridesmaid gift.  The locket had "To Amy, all my love, Aunt Natty" and the
date of the wedding engraved on the back of it. Nat knew that it would go
perfectly with the dress Amy would wear.

After an early dinner, of which Nat found she could eat very little, Amy
and Nat headed to the airport to meet Sara's plane.  Nick had telephoned
earlier to say that he would meet them at the airport.

When Nat and Amy entered the terminal, Nick was already waiting for them.
He greeted them both, and lightly kissed Nat. As always, the sense of being
safe in the warmth of his love soothed Nat and it was all she could do to
not throw herself into his arms. When he went to put his arm around her as
they walked toward the gate at which Sara's flight would disembark, Nat
leaned against him, drawing whatever strength she could from his presence.


Sara's plane arrived on time and with Nick carrying her luggage, the four
of them went to Nat's car.  Sara had greeted Nick warmly, the memory of the
horrible events of the last time she had seen him clearly gone from her
memory.  To Sara, Nick was simply a very nice man who was marrying her
sister-in-law, not a vampire who had first saved, then been forced to
destroy, her husband in front of her very eyes. Once the luggage was in the
car, Nick had said goodbye and returned to the station for his last shift
before the wedding. He was taking Friday, as well as Saturday, off. Nat,
Amy, and Sara drove back to Nat's apartment.

End Part 17

All comments to: cstar@pdq.net

Date: Mon, 22 Dec 1997 14:54:48 -0600
To: fkarchiver@fkfanfic.com
From: CLone Star Software <cstar@pdq.net>
Subject: In All Ways, One (Part 18/20)

Disclaimers: Please See Part 1a.

In All Ways, One (Part 18/20)
by Nightlady
(c) 1997


Nat had spent the rest of the evening exchanging memories and catching up
on events with her sister-in-law. Sara had approved of the dress Amy would
wear as well as complimenting Nat on her choice of a wedding gown. Nat
found that as much as she was enjoying Sara's company, she was having a
harder and harder time concentrating on small talk. She knew that the test
results would be ready and wondered if she could wait until morning to
collect them.  When Sara retired for the night, shortly after 1am, Nat,
knowing that sleep would be impossible, and after leaving a note so that
Sara wouldn't worry if she arose before Nat could return, headed for the
university.

Nat sat in her car staring at the information in front of her. For the
fifth time in less then three minutes she reread the figures. Any hope that
the figure for the vampire element was temporary, was gone. Instead of
decreasing, they had increased from three percent to almost ten percent.
Nat could feel her heart pound, as she fought back a sense of panic. "How
am I going to tell Nick?" She knew how upset he would be to learn that she
was apparently headed toward becoming a vampire. 'And what if LaCroix was
right? What if it is only my mortality that Nick loves? What I am, not who
I am?' These thoughts tormented her far more than the idea of a future as a
vampire and, for several minutes, she sat and cried. At last, Nat closed
her eyes, collected herself, and then resolutely started her car and headed
for Nick's loft. 

Nick had returned home early, the paperwork on Bako finished. The loft felt
empty and unwelcoming without Nat there with him. He missed her more than
he had imagined he would. Seeing her for so short a time earlier this
evening made her absence now even harder to bear. Sipping from the glass of
cow blood he'd poured when he first came home, Nick settled in the large
chair near the fireplace. He used the remote to start the fire and let
himself relax and think of Nat. A slow smile spread over his face as he
remembered how her hair felt like strands of silk, the softness of her
skin, and the blueness of her eyes. He was sitting, staring into the fire
when he heard the sound of the lift motor. Not expecting company, he
listened and was surprised, but very pleased, to hear Nat's heartbeat.
Rising, he headed toward the lift smiling. The smile on his face faded,
however, when she stepped off the lift. He could see that she had been
crying. "Nat, what's wrong?" He started to go to her, to take her in his
arms, but she raised her hand, stopping him. 

"No, Nick, please just stay where you are. I have to talk to you and I
don't know if I can if you hold me." Nat said, misery evident in her voice.
She saw the look of fear that crossed Nick's features. "I have to tell you
this, now, so we can decide if we are going to go through with the wedding." 

Nick looked at her in shock, feeling like he'd just been staked. "Nat, I
know that something has been bothering you for the past couple of days."
Nick said softly. "Whatever it is, we'll face it together."

"Nick...I...I've been racking my brain trying to find an easy way to tell
you this, but not matter how I say it, I know I'm going to hurt you." Nat
said, struggling to keep her composure. She handed Nick a set of papers.

Nick looked at them, "What are these?"

Nat took a deep breath, "The top one shows the results of the blood tests I
did on you in December. The other four are the results of the same tests,
but with my blood used for the sample, for December, January, February."
She looked into his eyes, "The last page shows the results of one I had run
with a sample of my blood taken last night."  Nat paused, fighting back
tears. "The last three entries on each page show the amount of the vampire
factor in the blood. In your case, over nine-five percent of the blood
cells have the factor. In the December sample of my blood, there is not
evidence of the factor, but in the later samples it is present."  


Nick stared at the papers in his hands. When he saw the results for the
most recent sample, he closed his eyes in anguish. Nick felt as if the room
was swirling around him. His worse fear, that he would condemn Nat to his
existence, was happening. "No." He said in a whisper. "Please, no."  He
sank down into a chair. 'She must hate me for this. She must think that I
did it knowingly.' He felt as if the world had collapsed upon him.

Nat looked at Nick's anguish and couldn't stay away from him. Going to him,
she dropped to her knees beside him. "Nick, listen to me. I know that this
is a shock to you, but we both knew, the first time that we made love, that
my becoming a vampire was a risk. I wasn't afraid of it then and I'm not
afraid now."  

Nick looked at Nat. He couldn't believe what she was saying, but the love
that radiated from her eyes, told him more clearly than her words that
somehow, miraculously, she didn't despise him.  "You know what my existence
is like, how can you not be afraid?"

Nat smiled gently. "Because, I love you more than anything else in my life,
including being mortal. I don't believe that you are evil and I don't
believe that my becoming a vampire is suddenly going to make me an evil
person. She paused, "But I am afraid of losing your love. You fell in love
with a mortal; can you love a vampire?  I need to know if you love me or my
mortality." 

Nick slowly reached out and lightly touched her hair. "One thing that I
have learned from you, is that who I am is not the same thing as what I am.
I won't lie to you." He saw the pain that flooded her eyes. "While I have
always valued and cherished your mortality, it is nothing compared to the
love I have for who you are."   


Nat thought that she might faint with relief. "Nick..." 

He laid his fingers on her lips silencing her.  "I never wanted this to
happen to you. I thought, when I was able to control myself and not take
too much blood, that you were safe." He said, his voice rough with sorrow.
"If I had known, that by making love to you I was condemning you to my own
fate..."

"You would never have made love to me?" Nat asked, quietly. Seeing his
answer in his eyes she reached up and took his hand in hers. "Then I'm glad
that you didn't know." Nat smiled as she saw his shocked expression. "Nick,
I have never been happier, felt more content, or experienced greater joy
then when we make love. If the price for this is my losing my mortality,
then I will gladly pay that price."  She felt tears slip from her eyes. 


Nick sat unmoving for several moments, then he stood, gently pulling Nat to
her feet. Holding her hands in his own, he looked into her tear-streaked
face. He gently brushed away her tears with his thumb. "I told you once
before, that you are my heart and my soul. No matter if you are mortal or
not, that will always be true. When you said that you had the vampire
element in your blood, a part of me wanted to scream in denial but a larger
part of me rejoiced that I would never have to lose you to old age or
illness or any other type of mortal death. Nat, I know that if this had not
happened, then on the day that you died I would have died too. To face
eternity without you, would be unbearable." He slowly lowered his lips to
hers and kissed her. "If I have you at my side for eternity, it will not be
long enough to show you how much I love you."  He saw the joy and love that
radiated from Nat's eyes and smiled. He looked deep into her eyes, and in a
solemn voice asked, "Will you still do me the honor of becoming my wife?" 

Nat smiled, her joy in finding out that Nick truly loved her, not just her
mortality, made it hard for her to speak. "I will," She murmured softly.
She went into his arms and, closing her eyes, rested her head against him.
"I've missed you so badly, this week." She said, as she felt the comforting
strength of his arms around her. Lifting her head, she looked into his eyes. 

"I was thinking the same thing, just before you arrived." Nick said, a soft
smile on his lips. He bent his head, intent on capturing the soft fullness
of her mouth with his own.

"My, my," a familiar voice sounded, "I do hope I'm not interrupting
anything." 

At the sound, Nick felt Nat stiffen in his embrace. Giving her a reassuring
squeeze, Nick looked up over her shoulder. "As a matter of fact, you are,
LaCroix. So why don't you do us all a favor and leave."

"Nicholas, I merely stepped by because I am concerned over the good
doctor." LaCroix replied. "As I mentioned to her briefly yesterday, I
seemed to detect a definite sense of the vampire in her." He waited,
anticipating the effect of his words on Nicholas.

Nat turned in Nick's arms and faced LaCroix. "You were correct. As I've
just told Nick, approximately ten percent of my blood cells contain the
vampire factors." She gave LaCroix a bitter smile. "I guess I should thank
you for alerting me."

Nick saw the brief look of surprise that crossed LaCroix's features. "Nat
came over to let me know about her 'condition' before the wedding. Someone
seems to have given her the misguided impression that it was her mortality
I love, not her." He smiled down at Nat. "Happily, I have been able to
convince her otherwise." 

Nick looked at LaCroix, noting the uncomfortable expression on his master's
face. "You knew that this would happen to her, didn't you?"

LaCroix glared at Nicholas and Natalie. This was not going at all the way
he had anticipated, but perhaps he could still salvage some victory. "I
admit that I have heard of it happening, but I had never seen it myself. I
thought it was merely a tale."

"And it never occurred to you that I might have wanted to know about such a
tale?" Nick said. He looked at LaCroix sadly. "Knowing how I feel about
what I am, why didn't you warn me even if you weren't sure of the truth of
it?"

LaCroix shrugged. "Perhaps I should have. I will be glad to tell you all
that I know of the tale now."

Nick glanced at Nat. "Please." 

The three of them went into the living area. Nick and Nat sat side by side
on the couch, Nick with his arm protectively wrapped around her shoulders.
LaCroix sat opposite them in the chair.

"According to what I THOUGHT was a legend," LaCroix began, "if a vampire
can manage to not give in to the blood thirst and take only a small amount
from his 'partner', then no harm will come to that person provided the act
is not repeated more than eight or ten times." 

"That makes sense," Nat said. "If the vampire factor is like a virus, then
the person that receives it can fight it off in small amounts. It is only
when a critical amount is introduced that the body's immune system fails."

"Once the 'virus' does take hold, there can be only one of three outcomes."
LaCroix said. "When the majority of the person's blood cells contain the
vampiric factor, that person must be brought across, before they go into a
convulsive state. If they are not brought across, they will die, either
from the convulsions or, should they survive the convulsions, at the hands
of the Enforcers."  

"Why would the Enforcers kill those that survive the convulsions?" Nick
asked quietly. 

LaCroix sighed, "Because even though they have survived and are vampires,
the convulsions destroy their minds. They are a danger to the community and
must not be allowed to survive."  Inwardly, he smiled as he could see the
despair in Nick's eyes. 

Nat met LaCroix's gaze calmly. "Did the tale you heard say anything about
how long it takes, after the changes start, before the person reaches a
crisis state?

"Nothing precise, perhaps six months to a year." LaCroix watched Nat's face
carefully.  She paled slightly, but managed to maintain her calm. 'I will
admit, my lovely Natalie, you do have courage.'  LaCroix glanced at Nick.
"I suppose that I should have realize that there was some validity to the
legend. I'm sorry that I didn't remember it in time."  

Nick looked at LaCroix. 'Or is this just your way of extracting your
revenge for Fleur?' He thought. Any desire to confront LaCroix on that
subject vanished when he felt a faint shiver run through Nat. Nick realized
that whether or not LaCroix had withheld then information deliberately, no
longer mattered as it would not change what had happened to Nat. "It
doesn't matter. I think Nat and I would like to be alone now, so if you
don't mind..."

"Of course," LaCroix said rising, "I'll be on my way now. Until tomorrow
night."  With a whoosh of air he was gone.

Once they were alone, Nat turned slightly and laid her head against Nick's
chest.  "Six months to a year, not a very long time." She felt Nick lean
his cheek against her head. "I'm still going to try and find a cure, for
both of us now, but I doubt that I'll find it in that short a time." She
hesitated, "Nick, if I don't find one in time...when the time comes..." 

Nick understood what Nat was asking. "I promise you," he said as he held
her lovingly in his arms, "I will bring you across when the time comes."

Nat's relief was evident. "I know how hard that is going to be for you,
but, I cannot stand the idea of anyone but you doing it." She reached up
and caressed his face. 

Nick looked at her, feeling her love and concern through their link. He
smiled and brushed his lips against her forehead. "And I couldn't bear to
allow anyone else to do it."  

For several minutes they were silent, drawing strength from one another. At
last Nat spoke. "There is one thing that frightens me, Nick." She said,
sitting up and looking at him. "What if I'm like Richard? What if I can't
control the urges?"

Nick took her face in his hands. "When I brought Richard across, it wasn't
with his consent or even his knowledge. He didn't even believe that
vampires existed,  until he found himself to be one. He was unprepared for
the transition." He saw her acknowledge the truth of this statement. "You
know, how powerful the bloodlust can be. You've seen me at my worst." Nick
gave her a reassuring smile. "And you know, too, that it can be
controlled."  He felt Nat relax slightly, wanting to believe him. " In one
way, what is happening to you is good. Your body is making the transition
slowly, giving you time to adjust, time that Richard never had."  Nat
nodded and laid her head back on his shoulder. Nick could feel her
exhaustion.  

"Nat, come upstairs and spend the rest of the night with me." He said softly. 

Nat nodded, "I'd like that, I need to feel safe for a little while."  She
snuggled against him. "And I always feel safe when I'm with you."

Nick felt a lump form in his throat. That, even after she knew that he was
the cause of her being doomed to an existence as a vampire, Nat still felt
him to be a source of comfort, was nothing less than amazing to him.  Using
his vampire strength, he slipped an arm under her knees and stood up.
Carefully, he carried her up the stairs and into the bedroom.  Once there,
he sat her on her feet and helped her to undress. As she slid between the
sheets, he stripped off his own clothes and joined her. 

Taking her in his arms he held her like a child, softly caressing her.
They spoke some more of what lay ahead for them until, at last, Nat fell
asleep. Nick lay awake listening to her soft breathing until the sun had
risen well above the horizon.  

End Part 18

All comments to: cstar@pdq.net

Date: Mon, 22 Dec 1997 14:56:02 -0600
To: fkarchiver@fkfanfic.com
From: CLone Star Software <cstar@pdq.net>
Subject: In All Ways, One (Part 19/20)

Disclaimers: Please see Part 1a.

In All Ways, One (Part 19/20)
by Nightlady
(c) 1997

Nat awoke slowly, the memory of the previous night's events slowly
returning. Opening her eyes, she found herself looking into Nick's soft,
blue eyes.  "You didn't sleep at all, did you?" She asked, looking closely
at Nick. 

Nick kissed her nose. "No, but I did have a very nice night. You are very
cute when you're asleep." 

Nat laughed. "What do I do, make funny faces?"

Nick's look softened, "No, you just look beautiful."  He kissed her softly
on the lips. "I didn't realize just how much I've missed holding you in my
arms until last night."

Nat smiled back at him. "I know how much I've missed being held. I haven't
slept this well all week."  She looked at the bedside clock. "I'd better
get back to the apartment. I still have some last minute things to take
care of before tomorrow." 

Nick reluctantly released her. "I'll pick you, Sara, and Amy up about seven
tonight."  The four of them were going to have dinner together. Nick lay
back against the pillows watching Nat dress.

"That sounds good." Nat said, sitting down near Nick as she put on her
shoes. A grin formed on her face as she felt Nick's cool lips against the
back of her neck. "If you don't stop that, I'm never going to get out of
here." She teased.

"Umm, eternity in bed with you. I like the sound of that." Nick whispered
in her ear. Nat turned her head toward him, "So do I, but I have to pick up
Sara and Amy. If I don't get going, we might not make it by the jeweler's
and then you and I won't have wedding rings to exchange tomorrow night."
She slipped away from him and left, pausing at the door to blow him a kiss.

Nick smiled as he watched her leave then, with a sigh, pulled her pillow
close to him and slept.


Driving back to her apartment, Nat was amazed at how good she felt. Now
that she knew that Nick still wanted to be with her, forever, she could put
aside her worries over what was happening to her body. 'Make it an
opportunity, Lambert.' she thought. 'Now you will have all the time you
need to find a cure.'  She smiled, visualizing a day sometime in the
future. She and Nick both mortal, with a bevy of children.  "Someday, Nick,
I promise you." She whispered aloud.  

As Nat entered the apartment, Sara was just pouring a cup of coffee for
herself.

"Did you get up early, or go out late?" Sara said smiling. 

"Out late." Nat said, fixing herself a cup of coffee. "Didn't you see the
note I left for you?" When Sara shook her head no, Nat explained. "I left
not long after you went to bed. I needed to talk to Nick about something.
By the time we finished talking, I was too tired to drive back here, so I
stayed."
Sara laughed, "And with Amy here all week, I bet you've missed Nick."

Nat could feel herself blush, "Yeah, you could say that. Not that I haven't
loved having Amy." Nat hurriedly added.  She hugged her sister-in-law.
"You've done a great job raising her. Richard would be so proud of her."

Sara smiled sadly. "Thanks, I think he would be proud of her too."  She
squeezed Nat's hand, "And I know that he would be very happy for you.
Richard thought a lot of Nick the few times we met him."

"Sara, Nick is everything I ever dreamed of and more. I never dared to hope
that I could be this happy." Nat's voice rang with sincerity. 

"Good! You sound the way a bride-to-be ought to." Sara said with
satisfaction.  


(March 7)


It was shortly after noon when Nat finally opened her eyes.  Nick had
picked her, Sara, and Amy up, as planned, the night before and the four of
them had enjoyed a wonderful dinner. Nick had even managed to eat some of
the food on his plate. As they were finishing their meal, Nat had looked up
and been surprised to see Grace, Tracy, Denise Reese, Myra Schanke, and
several other friends of hers approaching the table.  A quick glance in
Sara's direction, and the sudden fit of giggling that Amy developed, told
Nat that both of them knew what was going on. 

"Hi, Nick." Tracy said as the group of women reached the table, "We've come
to borrow your bride and these other ladies for a while."  

"That's right," Grace said. "We need to be sure that her last night as a
single woman is one that she will never forget!"

Nick laughed. "Just make sure that you get her home safe and sound." He
said smiling. 

Nat soon found herself whisked away in Tracy's car heading for the Reese's
house. Sara and Myra would join the group in a few minutes. They were
dropping Amy off at Myra's house to spend the night with Jenny. Myra would
drop Amy back at Nat's early Saturday afternoon.  Nat soon found herself
the guest of honor at what could best be described as a combination
lingerie shower and bachelorette party. 

When the last of over a dozen presents had been opened, the combined
contents of which probably contained less than a yard of fabric, Nat
responded to the good wishes and generosity of her friends. "Thank you, I
never expected anything like this." She held up one of the skimpier
outfits. "I can assure you that Nick will be very thankful to all of you,
too." She said, to a wave of giggling from the other women.

"Just don't tell him about this next part." Tracy said. She then went to
the door and admitted a male dancer who, Nat had to admit had a very well
conditioned body.  Finally, shortly before 4:30am, Nat and Sara arrived
back at the apartment. Nat had crawled gratefully into bed and fallen
asleep within minutes.   

As she stretched, Nat noticed that the message light on her answering
machine was flashing. Hitting the play button, she started giggling as
Nick's voice came over the speaker. "Hi Nat, I hope that you are in better
shape than I am right now. Right after you left, Capt. Reese and what
seemed to be the entire night shift waylaid me. It's almost 5am, and I just
got back to the loft. I was starting to worry that they planned to keep
going until after sunrise, actually there were a few still partying when I
left. Give me a call when you get up so I know that you're okay. I love you."

Nat picked up the phone and punched in Nick's number. When his answering
machine picked up, she waited until the message ended and then started to
speak. "Nick, just returning your message." She heard the click of the
receiver being picked up. 

"I hope that you feel better than I do." Nick said plaintively. "Do you
have any idea what even a small amount of alcohol on top of food does to a
vampire?"

Nat managed to not giggle. Nick sounded like a little boy with a
tummy-ache. "No, but from the way you sound, nothing good."

Nick snorted. "That's an understatement! It was worse than the time Schanke
made me eat bacon and eggs."

"Poor baby," Nat said sympathetically. "I did appreciate the effort you
made to actually eat something at dinner last night, if that helps any. You
know that I'm sorry that you aren't feeling well."

"I know, and if it had only been the little bit I ate, I'd be okay." Nick
said. "It's really my own fault. I should have known better than to drink
anything but I would have looked very strange without some sort of
beverage." He sighed. "I thought a glass of wine wouldn't bother me the way
some other drink would." Nick chuckled, "Guess I was wrong."

"How long do you think it will take you to recover from all this?" Nat asked. 

"I'll be fine by this evening. I think I just needed a little sympathy."
Nick said. "Don't worry I won't be sick for the wedding." He added with a
smile in his voice.

"Good, because I have definite plans for us after the wedding." Nat said
mischievously.

Nick laughed, "So do I."



Nat, Sara, and Amy arrived at the Four Seasons shortly before 5pm. After a
quick peek into the room the wedding was being held in to reassure Nat that
everything was being set up as planned, they went to the Bride's Room
provided by the hotel. Once there, Sara helped first Amy and then Nat get
dressed. 

"Nat you are absolutely beautiful!" Sara exclaimed, as she saw Nat in her
wedding gown. 

Nat smiled and looked at herself in the full-length mirror. Her dress clung
to the curves of her body accenting them, the long, slightly full skirt
forming a short train behind her. The beadwork on the lace, that formed the
shoulders and accented the fullness of her breasts, caught the light like a
hundred tiny stars. The heavy, gold locket Nick had given her rested just
at the hollow of her throat. Her hair tumbled in a curly, auburn mass over
her shoulders and down her back, and her face was radiant with happiness
and excitement. "I don't look half bad." Nat agreed, smiling.  

"Aunt Natty, you look like a princess in a fairy tale." Amy said. 

Nat looked at her niece. The blue of the dress exactly matched Amy's eyes
and the style was flattering to the young girl's newly developing shape.
With her bright blonde hair loose about her shoulders, Amy resembled a
flower just coming in to full bloom. "So do you." Nat said hugging her.

A knock at the door caused them all to turn their heads. Sara answered it,
admitting Joe Reese. Nat had asked him to accompany her down the aisle. 

"Knight is one lucky guy," Reese said looking at Nat. "You look like a
queen in that dress."

Nat could feel herself blushing. "Let's just hope I don't trip over the
skirt and fall on my face getting down the aisle." She joked.

Reese chuckled. "Nothing to worry about. You just hold on to me. I promise
I won't let you fall." He looked at his watch. "Ladies, I do believe it is
time."

Sara gave Nat a last hug and went to find her seat. Amy picked up her
bouquet, which had the ring Nat would give Nick during the ceremony
fastened into it, and walked confidently out of the door ahead of Nat and
Reese.  Taking Reese's offered arm Nat followed.


End Part 19

All comments to: cstar@pdq.net

Date: Mon, 22 Dec 1997 14:57:14 -0600
To: fkarchiver@fkfanfic.com
From: CLone Star Software <cstar@pdq.net>
Subject: In  All Ways, One (Part 20/20) Adult Version 

THIS IS THE ADULT VERSION.

Disclaimers: Please see Part 1a.

In All Ways, One (Part 20a/20)
by Nightlady
(c) 1997

Nick and LaCroix stood at the end of the aisle, just in front of the judge
that would perform the ceremony.  Both men looked splendid in their
tuxedos, Nick's in a silver tone, and LaCroix's in black. As the music
began, Nick turned to watch Amy enter the rear of the room. He smiled as he
noted the many friends, both human and vampire, seated in attendance. Amy
moved slowly down the aisle, and just as she reached Nick and LaCroix, gave
Nick a wink and whispered, "Wait 'til you see Aunt Natty." Nick grinned
back at her and turned his eyes to the rear of the room. In his eagerness
to see Nat, Nick missed the speculative look that LaCroix gave Amy.

Nat laid her hand on Reese's arm, her stomach fluttering with excitement.
As they stepped into the room, her eyes searched for Nick. When she saw him
and their eyes met, all of her nervousness disappeared. She all but floated
down the aisle toward him, only vaguely aware of the others in the room.

Nick looked at Nat and thought she looked like an angel. Her blue eyes
sparkled and the dress she wore made her a vision of loveliness. Nick
swallowed, he had never dreamed that this moment would come for them and
the fact that it had, gave him renewed hope for both their futures. As Nat
and Reese reached the place where Nick awaited them, Nick stepped forward
and offered her his arm.  She paused only for a second, to reach up and
kiss Reese on the cheek with a murmured "Thank you."  With a look so full
of love, that her face seemed to glow with an inner light, Nat laid her
hand on Nick's arm.  Together, they turned and approached the judge as
Reese slipped into a seat next to his wife. 

After greeting the assembled guests and speaking briefly on the solemnity
of marriage, the judge reached the point in the ceremony where Nick and Nat
would exchange their vows. The judge nodded to Nick.

Nick took Nat's hand in his own. He looked deep into her eyes letting his
voice and expression help to convey the sincerity of his words. 

"Natalie, from the first moment that I met you, I knew that you were
special. As we got to know one another, I found myself drawn more and more
to you. You shine with a beauty that is brighter than the sun, and to have
your love is what enables me to face each day. I give thanks each day that
you came into my life, and somehow found me worthy of your love. That you
have consented to be my wife is the greatest joy that I have ever known.
You are what makes me whole, your love warms me, and I know that my love
for you will never diminish. I promise to do anything and everything in my
power to make your life one of happiness, for you are my heart and soul and
without you, I would be lost."

Nat listened to Nick's words with tears in her eyes. She could see, hear
and feel his love.  When he finished, she took a deep breath to steady
herself and then began speaking in a soft voice.

"Nick, from the moment we met I knew that my life had been changed forever.
As I got to know you better, I knew that I could never love anyone else.
You are my strength and my anchor. When I am with you, I know that no
matter what may happen I am safe. I promise that I will always be there for
you, that I will never leave you, and that my love for you is eternal. You
are my other half, and I could not bear life without you."

The judge took the rings from Amy and LaCroix. "These rings are the visible
symbols of your love for one another." He told Nick and Nat. "It is in the
exchange of them that you formally declare your intentions to one another."

He handed a ring to Nicholas. "Place this ring upon Natalie's finger and
declare your intentions." 

Nick took the heavy gold band from the judge. "Natalie, accept this ring
from me as a token of my love for you." He said as he slipped it on her
finger saying, "With this ring, I thee wed."

The judge then handed a ring to Natalie. "Place this ring upon Nicholas'
finger and declare your intentions."

Nat took the ring and slid it onto Nick's finger. "Nicholas, accept this
ring from me as a token of my love for you. With this ring, I thee wed." 

"In so much as Nicholas and Natalie have declared their intentions and have
exchanged rings as symbols," the judge said with a smile, "and by the
powers granted me by the province of Ontario, I now declare that they are
husband and wife." He smiled at Nick; "You may kiss your bride."

Nick pulled Nat into his arms, his mouth covering hers in a kiss that was
both deep and tender. Nat returned his kiss, with a passion that caused
every nerve in his body to tingle. As they broke the kiss, he held her
close to him, unwilling to have this moment end. Only as the processional
music started did they at last turn and walk hand in hand down the aisle.  

Behind them, LaCroix stepped forward and offered his arm to Amy. She gazed
up into his clear blue eyes and blushed. LaCroix smiled as he escorted her
down the aisle. 'What a delightful young woman,' he thought, 'she reminds
me so much of Fleur.'  When they reached the end of the aisle, LaCroix
brought Amy's hand to his lips, and gently kissed it. He could sense the
shiver of excitement that his action sent through her body. Still holding
her hand, he led her to one side.

Their friends surrounded Nick and Nat, all offering them congratulations
and best wishes. The hotel workers quickly set up a large buffet table and
the small chamber ensemble hired for the occasion began to play. Soon the
guests were eating and dancing. Nick had arranged for one of the bartenders
from the Raven to man the bar, and both mortals and vampires, received the
beverage of their choice. 

Nat glanced around the room and finally spotted Sara and Amy. With a slight
frown, she noted that LaCroix seemed to be deep in conversation with them.
Nat remembered what Nick had told her of LaCroix's fascination with Fleur
and made a mental note to tell Sara to keep Amy away from LaCroix. She
started to go over and break up their little tete a tete, but before she
could, another group of well wishers approached.  

Nick quietly introduced Nat to those vampires present whose acquaintance
she had never made, most notable Aristotle and Feliks Twist. It was the
former who handed Nick the cream colored envelope.  Nick opened it to find
a note from Janette inside.

Dearest Nicholas,

Aristotle informed me that you and Natalie have decided to marry. I want
you to know that, despite my anger toward you when we were last together, I
do hope that you will be very happy. I know from the all too brief time I
was with Robert, that it is possible for one of our kind to truly love a
mortal. I pray that your time with Natalie will be much longer.  Please
convey to her my best 
wishes for both of you. May you both have a wonderful life together.

With love and affection,
Janette

Nick read the note, and handed it to Natalie. After reading it, she smiled
at Nick. "I'm glad she sent this to you. I know that you miss having her
here. I know that you have feelings for her."  

Nick slipped his arm around Nat's waist. "Janette will always be important
to me," he acknowledged, "but the feelings I have for her are those of a
brother for a sister." He kissed Nat. "You are the only woman I want, and I
shall never stop loving you."

Nat laid her head on Nick's shoulder. "Can we send a message to Janette
through Aristotle?" When Nick nodded, she continued. "Ask him to let
Janette know that she will always be welcome in our home, and that we will
always be there if she needs us."

"I'll see to it," Nick said, "but not tonight." He listened as the chamber
ensemble started a slow waltz.  "Would you care to dance, Mrs. Knight?" 

Nat grinned, "I would love to, Mr. Knight."  

Nick led her to the dance floor. They drifted through the dance, lost in
the music and one another's eyes. It was only when the music ended, and the
watching guests applauded, that they realized they had been the only couple
on the floor.  

Soon, it was time to cut the cake.  Nick even managed to eat the very small
piece that Nat fed him. A short time later, Nick thoroughly enjoyed the
task of removing the fancy blue garter Nat had worn during the ceremony.
He stood facing Nat, and tossed it over his head toward a crowd of
unmarried male guests, while Nat at the same time tossed her bouquet.  When
they looked to see who had caught the items, it was all Nick and Nat could
do to keep from laughing. Vachon stood holding the garter and smiling
happily at a blushing Tracy Vetter, who had caught the bouquet. 

As the party finally wound down, Nick and Nat made their escape through a
hail of birdseed and drove off toward the loft. 

Once there, Nick scooped Nat into his arms and carried her from the car to
the lift. She laid her head on his shoulder as they rode up. Once the lift
stopped, Nick carried her inside and put her down on the couch. He then
headed into the kitchen, where he grabbed a bottle of blood from the fridge
and poured Nat a glass of white wine. Joining Nat on the couch, he handed
her the wine. Nat snuggled against Nick gazing into his eyes. Nick caressed
her face. "You were absolutely beautiful tonight." He said, as he looked
lovingly at her. 

Nat smiled, "Thank you." She paused, then taking his hand in hers,
continued. "In spite of finding out about the virus," she began, softly,
"right now I feel like the luckiest person in the world."  

Nick caught her lips with his, kissing her deeply. As they broke the kiss,
Nat leaned against Nick's chest and they sat in silence enjoying the feel
of one another and sipping their drinks.

Nick took Nat's wineglass and sat it beside his on the end table. Then,
with out saying a word, Nick stood and held out his hand to Nat. She took
it and he led her up the stairs.

In the bedroom, Nat lifted her hair away from her neck and Nick unzipped
her dress, planting kisses along her neck as he did so.  Nat sighed as the
dress fell to the floor around her and turned to face him, pulling his head
down to her eager lips. Nick covered her mouth with his and kissed her
deeply. As he deepened the kiss further, he allowed his hands to explore
her body. One dropping to caress her breasts through the sheer bra she had
on, and the other dropping even farther to cup her butt.  He could feel
himself harden as Nat pressed her hips against him. With a growl of desire,
he lifted her and carried her to the bed. Laying her down on it he knelt,
and slowly undid the front snap of the lace bra. Taking one nipple in his
mouth, he teased it into hardness with his tongue, listening as Nat gasped
with pleasure. He sighed, as she caressed his hair and shoulders with her
hands. Sliding his other had under her shoulders, he lifted her and eased
the bra from her.  Laying her back down, he again found her mouth; his
tongue touched and played with hers and he gasped as she skillfully ran
hers along his sensitive fangs. As his eyes turned to gold and his fangs
dropped, he trailed his kisses along the line of her jaw to her neck.
Allowing the scent of her blood, and the sound of it rushing through her
veins, to increase his own excitement. Nick continued his trail of kisses
down to her breasts, then to the smooth softness of her stomach. Lovingly,
he worked his way down her body. Nick slid his hands into the top of lacy
garter belt she wore. He felt Nat lift her hips, and he skillfully slid
both the garter belt and the small lacy thong she wore beneath it, down
over them. As he pushed then toward her feet, he paused to nuzzle the warm,
sensitive mound of her womanhood. He lapped softly around her nub, causing
her to shiver with ecstasy. Raising his head for only a moment, he finished
removing the garter belt, thong and hose and swiftly shed his own clothing.
In just moments he was back, licking and tasting her juices as Nat pressed
her groin against him. His own member was throbbing with his desire to be
in her. Nick brought her to the verge of climax and then stopped. He heard
her cry of frustration as he moved once again, to taste the sweetness of
her breasts. At the same time, he slid between her welcoming legs. Covering
her body with his own, he teased her nipples, while she wiggled against him
seeking her fulfillment. Only when he sensed that she had come down
slightly from that peak, did he slide his hard, stiff member into her. She
arched up against him, joyfully allowing him to penetrate deep inside her.
Slowly, Nick began to move, carefully bringing her to near orgasm. He
watched her face, and when he saw the now familiar flecking of gold in her
own eyes, opened a small wound in his tongue with his fang.  As he gave the
thrust he knew would send her into orgasm, he allowed her to taste the
small amount of his blood that ran from the wound.

Nat felt herself racing toward her release with an intensity she had never
known before when Nick's mouth touched hers. She parted her lips and
allowed his tongue access to her own, sucking on it. She was momentarily
startled by the unexpected taste of Nick's blood. Instead of the coppery
bitterness she would have expected from blood, Nick's seemed to her to be
like nectar. Within an instant of tasting the first drops of his blood, he
was overwhelmed by the intensity of the emotions that swept through her.
Not only did she feel as if her whole body was exploding in repeated waves
of pleasure, but at the same time she knew in far more depth and detail
than she had ever before received from their link, how Nick's love for her
matched hers for him. 

Her heart was pounding from the release of sexual tension.  Nat felt her
eyes fill with tears at the overwhelming sense of love that she was
experiencing. She sucked the last drops of blood from the already healing
wound, not wanting the moment to end. Nick lifted his mouth from hers and
sank his fangs into the soft, creamy skin of her throat.  The swift welling
of blood that burst into his mouth brought Nick to his own climax. With
their bond newly strengthened, Nat continued to receive images and emotions
from Nick.  As she gripped him tightly to her, they both reveled in the
shared physical sensations and emotions.  With a sigh, Nick collapsed
spent, onto her. He moved to shift his weight from her and held her tightly
in his arms. He looked into her eyes, now back to their normal rich blue
color but still slightly unfocused due to the intensity of her experience.
As he held her, trembling, in his arms, Nick felt sense of  contentment
that he had never dared to allow himself to dream of experiencing. 

Nick stroked Nat's hair, murmuring her name as she slowly recovered. He
knew that the sudden flow of images and emotions, which she would have
received from the taste of his blood, had shaken her to her core and that
she would require several minutes to recover from it. He offered her, his
strength and his love to guide her.

Nat clung to Nick, trembling with both pleasure and emotion. The feel of
his body against hers, and the comforting sound of his voice, were the
anchor that she needed to gradually slow her breathing and return to the
world that surrounded her.  She knew with certainty that no matter what
sort of a future she faced, so long as she had Nick beside her, she would
be safe.  At last she raised her head, from where she had nuzzled into his
shoulder, and looked into Nick's eyes. She saw the joy that lit in them as
she gave him a radiant smile. No words were needed between them, no secrets
existed, and they were and would forever be, in all ways, one. 


The End

Thanks for your patience if you've read this far. :) I hope that you've
enjoyed my tale. 

I'd also like to take this opportunity to thank my beta readers, Monique
and Wendy for their patience and willingness to assist me. I am fortunate
to have such wonderful people as friends. 

There is a Four Seasons Hotel in Toronto and Lake Simcoe does exist,
although Bako's cabin is merely a product of my imagination.  

All comments to: cstar@pdq.net