Date: Tue, 15 Feb 1994 00:04:56 -0700 Janette *************************************************************************** La Nuit dalla St-Valentin Janette was sitting in her office, waiting for Nick to show up for their traditional Valentine's celebration. It had been a custom for them for many centuries, and Janette hoped that this year would be no different. Nick was late, but that was nothing unusual. She was no longer surprised by anything where Nick was concerned. She picked up the pendant that was lying on her desk and sighed. *** Flashback: Paris, February 13, 1643. It had been a bleak evening for Janette. LaCroix was off on one of his little escapades and Nicholas, who always had some insignificant tramp to go to, had disappeared for the evening. Or so she thought. She sat in her rooms and watched the rain pour down unrelentingly. The door opened very quietly behind Janette. She continued to stare out into the dark, gloomy night. She nearly jumped when Nicholas kissed the back of her neck. "Did you miss me, cherie?" he whispered in her ear. She turned toward him, anger flashing in her eyes. "What do *you* want?" Janette was clearly not happy with him. He could tell from the set of her shoulders and the pretty pout. He smiled. "I had a surprise for you...but since..." "Oh Nicholah! A surprise...for me?" Janette asked brightly. Nicholas knew that she wouldn't be able to stay angry at him for very long. Especially not when he came bearing gifts. He handed her a small box and kissed her briefly. "For you, chere mademoiselle. I hope you like it." He watched as she eagerly opened the box. There was a beautiful pendant of a raven carved out of black onyx lying delicately on a bed of red velvet. It's black diamond eyes sparkled in the dim light. *** The raven's bejeweled eyes glistened brightly in the near darkness of Janette's office. She touched the delicate figurine with her finger tip. She was startled out of her reverie when the phone rang beside her. She sighed slightly and resigned herself to answering the phone. "Oui, bonjour." "Janette," Nick said. Janette took in a deep breath, knowing what he was about to say. "Yes, Nicholah?" "I can't make it. There's been a homicide and Stonetree wants us to cover it. I'll make it up to you. I promise," he said, knowing that she wasn't happy, but that she would accept it. "Alright. I'll see you tomorrow then." She hung up the phone without a second thought and shrugged. Janette didn't like being put off, but she knew that Nick meant well. An evil smile crossed her features and she picked up the phone again. She dialed a number and waited. "Natalie's bed and breakfast," said the friendly voice at the other end. "Natalie?" inquired Janette in a doubtful tone. "No, this is Grace, her assistant. Hang on," said the voice. Janette heard the receiver being put on the desk and a slightly muffled "Yo, Nat! Phone!" A moment later the receiver was picked up again. "This is Dr. Lambert." "Natalie? C'est Janette. Are you free this evening?" "Sure, why?" Natalie asked, just slightly suspicious of Janette. Of course that was nothing new. Natalie was always very cautious when it came to Nick's old friend. She always had some scheme cooking. "I was hoping we could have a talk...at my club." "Okay. I'll finish up here in about 20 minutes and then I'll head over," said Natalie, suspicion tugging at every fibre in her body. "Tres bien! Don't tell Nicholah. He'll just try to talk you out of it." "I won't. Bye." Natalie hung up, shaking her head. *** One hour later: Natalie pulled up in front of the Raven. She eyed the door speculatively. Why did she have a bad feeling about this? Why hadn't she called Nick? "Oh well, too late now," she thought. She gathered up all the courage she could muster and walked inside. She waded through the crowd with little difficulty and found the bar. "Hi, could you tell me where I can find Janette?" she asked the bartender. "Right behind you," Janette said in a semi-whisper. Natalie whirled around, clasping her hand to her chest. "Sorry, didn't mean to startle you," she said with false sincerity. "Come, let's go sit." The two women made their way to one of the booths. There were two glasses on the table. One pure wine, the other with a blood twist. After they were seated, Janette picked up her glass. "I know you're wondering why I called you here, ne c'est pas?" "I was marginally curious," replied Natalie, who reluctantly picked up her glass. She took a cautious sip and found the wine to be excellent. "Valentine's Day is coming up very quickly. I think we should do something *special* for Nicholah," Janette said. Natalie smiled and put her glass on the table. "What exactly do you have in mind?" Janette leant across the table just enough to make Natalie a little nervous. A smile began to play at the corners of Natalie's mouth as Janette, in gruesome detail, laid out the plans for their surprise. *** The next evening: Natalie was in her office, trying not to look nervous, when Nick walked in. She looked up and smiled sweetly at him. "Nick, what brings you here?" she asked without betraying the nervous tension she felt. "Do I have to have an excuse to come and visit my favourite coroner?" He smiled as he watched her get up and walk across the room. "No, but you usually do." Nick put on his best wounded expression. Natalie almost felt guilty for what she and Janette had been planning, but not guilty enough to change her mind. She patted his arm. "There there. You'll get over it. Now, If you'll excuse me, I have one more autopsy to perform." With that, she turned away from him and began to arrange her instruments. "Before I go, I wanted to know if you had any plans on Valentine's Day." Nick turned her to face him and smiled hopefully. "I'm sorry Nick, I'm going to go out with some of my friends from med school." She felt terrible for lying, but she'd make up for it later. Nick nodded. "Oh well, maybe next year. I'll catch you later," he said, feeling a little subdued as he left. *** After she got off work, Natalie went back to the Raven. Things were working out beautifully for their plan. She and Janette sat in the luxurious back office sipping their respective drinks. "I feel guilty for letting him think that I'm not going to spend time with him on Valentine's day," said Natalie as she eyed the dark red wine in her glass. Janette smiled and shook her head. "Ma chere Natalie, Nicholah will forgive and forget. Now, have you gotten the other things we need?" "I know he'll forgive us, but do you really think he'll forget? Come on Janette, you know as well as I..." Natalie was skeptical. She had known Nick for a several years now, and was very reluctant to proceed. "Look, Nicholah isn't going to carry a grudge. I promise. Now, did you get everything else we agreed upon?" Janette repeated. Natalie heaved a sigh of resignation and nodded. "Yes, right down to the order of balloons and the singing telegram. Oh, and I've started working on the lyrics to the song that they'll sing to him." Natalie smiled lopsidedly. "He's going to want us dead, Janette. This is going to make him crazy." "Yes, but it's so much fun. And Natalie, darling, that is what life is all about, ne c'est pas?" Janette's eyes were absolutely shining. The more she thought about this, the more excited she was about it. She was also beginning to realise that Natalie was a good person, if a little too straight laced. *** Valentine's Day: Nick was driving to work, wondering if Natalie was enjoying herself. He knew he should have asked her sooner, but he hadn't been sure of how to bring it up with her. The car phone rang when he was about a block from the station. "Knight here," he said. "Knight, it's Schanke. We have a situation at Natalie's. You'd better get over here," said Schanke, his voice sounding clipped and tense. "I'm on my way." Nick hung up the phone before Schanke had a chance to say anything else. He parked the Caddy in an alley nearby and took to the cool night air. *** A scant few minutes later: Nick landed on the roof of Natalie's appartment complex. He could see Schanke's car in the parking lot with two black and whites. Nick could feel his blood running even colder. He ran to the access way and, as fast as he could without using his preternatural abilities, made his way down to Natalie's flat. There were two uniforms standing in the hall interviewing the neighbours. He flashed his badge and walked inside. The sight which greeted him was absolutely horrific. There was blood everywhere and broken furniture littered the room. Janette and Natalie were both lying on the floor in a puddle of blood. One of the legs from a broken chair was sticking out of Janette's chest. It had gone all the way through her. Natalie was lying partially draped over the other woman's legs. Upon closer examination, Nick realised that her neck had a hideous gash in it. She looked almost serene in her death. The smell of her fresh blood was almost overwhelming for him. He staggered and leaned on the couch for support. Schanke was at his side almost instantly. "Easy partner. Why don't you sit down," suggested Schanke. He looked just as shaken as Nick. "How long ago?" Nick managed to choke out. He was on the verge of losing control, but held on to the thread that linked him to his humanity. Schanke patted his shoulder, trying to comfort his friend and partner. "About twenty minutes ago. Mrs. Owens next door called in a dispute. When we got here, we found this." Schanke swept his hand through the air, indicating the chaos in front of them. Nick buried his face in his hands, trying to keep Schanke from seeing the blood-tears that had started to fall from his eyes. He would never get a chance to tell Natalie how he felt about her. Nor could he tell Janette how much she meant to him. His life had fallen into a shambles before his eyes and he could do nothing about it. All at once, the room was teeming with activity. The officers and neighbours who had been outside came flooding in and Natalie and Janette got up off the floor. Someone had pulled at the drape that had been hanging from one of the walls and a good 20 balloons took to the air. Nick looked up at the sudden flourish of movement and saw Janette and Natalie standing before him. The whole crew started singing a Valentine's song to the melody of "It's a Small World". *** Later that night at Nick's flat: Nick was sitting on his couch with Natalie and Janette, who had gotten cleaned up and changed, on either side of him. Janette leant fondly against Nick, while Natalie kept a discreet distance between them. Nick started laughing and shaking his head. "What?" the partners in crime asked. "I was just thinking what an unlikely pair the two of you are. And..." "Nicholah, I'm hurt," said Janette, feigning injury. She stood up and walked toward the fireplace. Nick looked to Natalie for help, but found none. "I didn't mean..." he started. Janette turned back to him and smiled. "It's alright. I'm just teasing you. Natalie and I may not have all that much in common, but we do have you. And cher Nicholah, that is enough to bring us together. Ne c'est pas, Natalie?" "Absolutely," stated Natalie. She smiled at Janette, and added, "We wanted to surprise you." "Oh, I was surprised alright." He reached out to Janette, who took his hand, and then he clasped Natalie's hand with the other. "I thought I'd lost both of you. That's something I don't ever want to face again." Janette gave Nick's hand a gentle squeeze and walked towards the elevator. "Where are you going?" Nick asked. Janette turned back to them. "Down to the garage. I left my dinner in Natalie's car." She got in the elevator and disappeared. "You and Janette seem to get along well," Nick said almost nervously. Natalie nodded and smiled. "It may take a while, but I think we'll be good friends." Nick turned to her and smiled back. "I'm glad to hear that." Nick and Natalie sat in silence for what seemed an eternity, just looking at each other. They both knew that their feelings ran deeper than just friendship, but neither of them had, as yet, had the courage to take the first step to changing it. "Happy Valentine's Day, Natalie," he whispered. Natalie's eyes widened when he kissed her, but she quickly relaxed. It wasn't every day that her Knight in shining armour kissed her. Natalie had just put her arms around him when the elevator door opened and Janette cleared her throat. Nick and Natalie were suddenly at opposite sides of the couch. Natalie was looking very embarrassed and managed to find a very empty spot on the floor to focus on. Janette crossed the room, an amused smile on her lips. She kissed Nick's forhead as she walked out to the kitchen. "It's okay, Natalie. I think Janette understands." "I know," she said. Happy Valentine's Day, Nick." With that, Natalie got up and followed Janette to the kitchen, where they had a long, woman to woman chat about their favourite man.