Date:         Sun, 14 Jan 1996 03:23:01 -0600 
From: Julie Randolph <randolph@TENET.EDU> 
Subject:      Night in Question Take 2 
 
 
** I suppose this one has been knawing at me since I saw the show. Natalie 
made a big mistake...and now, through the wonders of fiction, I am going to 
fix it for her. WARNING: sexual content, not recommended for children ** 
 
 
Night in Question Take 2 
Julie Randolph 
Eternal Cousin 
Forever FFFROGie 
Nick&Nat Packer (for the moment) 
Immortal Beloved 



 "We? What do you mean by we? Do we have a relationship?"  Nick smiled as a 
flustered look washed over Natalie's face.

 "No..no, we're just friends." He stood immobile for a moment, gaging the 
situation and realized, without a doubt, that she was lying.

 His hand reached out to caress her cheek,"When I first saw you at the 
hospital...I knew there was something special between us..." He moved closer 
and Natalie was unable to stop him, the desire and need she had felt for so 
long overcoming any resolution she might have made to keep this from 
happening.  She had wanted to take it slowly.  He was still speaking, but as 
his lips gently brushed across her own, she barely heard his words, "Something 
very good."

 Natalie was lost.  Everything she had ever wanted was within her grasp, "We 
have an unusual relationship."  His lips crossed hers again, they were soft 
and as their breath mingled, it created warmth.  Not the coldness she had so 
often imagined, he was warm, flesh and blood.

 "But you won't tell me why."

 Nick smiled softly into her eyes and kissed her again, his gentleness 
something she had seen directed toward others, but never imagined having for 
herself, "I don't know if I should."  It was barely a whisper, her resolve 
discentegrating with each touch, each softly spoken word, each endearment.  
His lips covered hers again and she sighed.  He didn't take his sips away, but 
spoke up against her own, a communing of two souls, "Is it important?"

 She was finally over the edge.  Damn LaCroix, that pompus bastard, Nick did 
have the strength to get past everything that he was.  As she thought the 
words, she spoke, almost in unison with the thought, "No....not now."

 That was the last thing that was said as she gave in to the onslaught of 
emotion.  Love, mingled with pent up desire.  The soft kisses of moments 
before gave way to more confident exploration. He pulled her away from the 
fireplace, his lips never leaving her own.  Something inside of him was sure 
that this was right, yet there was doubt, not only from him, but from her as 
well.  As they sat together, he turned, looking into her face, his love as 
real as it had been the night he stood up for her at Azure.  Oh yes, she 
remembered it, but more than anything else she remembered his kiss, that deep 
and probing kiss that took her breath away even now as she looked back.  It 
was not the kiss of the man, but the kiss of Nick Knight, both the man and the 
vampire, and not something she would readily forget.

 His fingers touched her temple, massaging gently, "You left me, where are 
you?"

 Natalie looked at him and smiled, "Just thinking."

 He kissed her softly again, "About what?"

 "About this...about us."

 She felt it then, he was pulling away, and God help her, she knew that he 
should, but could not allow it to happen.  She had the man, she had the love 
and lust of the man without the danger of the vampire, even if for this one 
night and she was not going to let it slip through her fingers.  This might be 
the only night she ever shared with him like this, as if they were lovers, as 
if they truly did have a future together.

 "There is something not quite right about this, isn't there Natalie?"

 Her brow furrowed,"What do you mean?"

 "I want so much to be close to you, but you won't let me near, as if you're 
protecting me from something...what is it, what could be so horribly wrong 
that we can't somehow work it out."

 She leaned forward bracing her hands on his chest,'We will work it out."

 That was all the justification he needed as he scooped her up into his arms 
and carried her to his bedroom without a second thought.  He knew 
instinctively where it was, not needing his memory.  His memory...he paused as 
he set her on the floor.  Had he hurt her in some way, had he done something 
to her that he did not remember?  Her fingers were moving to the buttons on 
his shirt, when he grasped her hands and stilled them. His kiss was soft, 
almost apologetic.

 Natalie was flustered, her clothing touseled, her eyes glazed with passion.  
Nick was not doing much better.  She had uncovered his chest and was not 
incessantly searching it with soft probing hands.  He groaned, trying to 
remember, trying to look into a black past and find any reason that he and 
this woman had never shared this experience before, and found nothing.

 "Do you love me?" his question came probing into the fogginess of her mind 
and she answered without thinking.

 "Yes."

 "How long have we known each other?"

 She paused, taking long enough to stare at him.  he looked absolutely boyish.  
His face was flushed with desire, his eyes glimmered with that twinkling blue, 
his fair hair was unkempt where she had run her fingers through the silky 
curls.

 "Why?"

 He looked struck, "Have i done anything to hurt you, Natalie?"

 The look on her face was answer enough.  he had done something, he had hurt 
her, and he didn't know why or how.

 "Whatever I did, Nat...I'm sorry."

 the use of her affectionate nickname caught her offguard, could his memory be 
returning?  All of those doubts were quelched when he pulled her roughly into 
his arms and kissed her with a passion she had never known existed until now.  
they were like that for sometime and then he whispered softly into her 
ear,"Whatever it is that I did...I will make up for it now."

 Natalie struggled between duty and desire.  She wanted him to make up for all 
the pain, waiting and wanting of the last four years.  She stopped.

 "What is it?"

 "Once, we were talking about a girl with multiple personalities and you said 
that she was not whole.  Well, that is what you are now, Nick...you aren't 
whole, and if this is ever to happen between us, if we are to share a future, 
you have to be everything that you are."

 'I don't understand."

 She sighed,"I know you don't and i don't know how to fix it."

 "Then stay with me tonight."  Natalie paused and looked away, but Nick 
touched her chin gently, pulling her head up to look into his eyes,"Whatever 
it is, block it out for tonight, Nat.  This night, these moment, we will share 
them together.  I know that I love you, that much I remember, and I know that 
I want you more than anything else on this earth, as if we have not been able 
to be together.  Let me give you this night."

 She did not have the power to resist what she had wanted for so long. they 
had known this night would come, and perhaps, for this one day, they culd be 
together in safety.  She fell into his arms as he pulled her to the bed.  It 
was only one night, but it would have to be enough.

 ********************************

 "Bring me across, please..."

 Golden eyes looked out from under blonde lashes and sharp fangs emerged with 
each breath he took.  She was there in his arms, hehad her, he could take her 
now.  He grasped her head, pulling it back and her body convulsed with passion 
as he sank his teeth into te tender skin at her neck.  She held onto him, the 
feeling so incredible, so amazing, she wanted it to go on forever and Nick 
slowly sank back into his pit of darkness, drinking, wanting her to be one 
with him in the only way he knew how.

 Nick woke with a start, staring at his ceiling and then looking down upon the 
naked woman sleeping in his arms.  He could hear LaCroix's words echoing 
through his head,"why don't you go out and rediscover yourself, for yourself."

 He moved silently as not to disturb her, dressed and then left.  If there was 
something he must know about himself, he must know it now, for he loved this 
woman, there was no doubt, and he had every intention of making her his 
forever, but he must know or it would always ache somewhere inside, that 
perhaps there was something she was keeping from him.  She turned, and curled 
back into the covers, it was a night to remember, their lovemaking had been 
something he was unsure he had ever known.  It had more to do with love, he 
would guess than sex.

 he went back to the warehouse where he had been shot, trying desperately to 
put the pieces together.  He was about to leave when the sun came up over the 
horizon.  It burned through his flesh, his body started smoking and he did the 
only thing he could think of, he covered himself as best he could and drove 
like a bat out of hell for home.  What had she hot told him, what could 
possibly be this deadly?

 She was awake when he stumbeled into his loft, steaming, his face and hands 
covered in burns.

 "DID YOU KNOW THIS WOULD HAPPEN???"

 Natalie stood in shock,"I told you not to go out!"

 "what is it, what's wrong with me...why won't you tell me."

 Nat paused, her brain clicking into several different places at once, did she 
dare lie to him yet again and give up what they had created last night if he 
ever regained his memory?  Did she have a choice?

 'Nick, sit dow, the pain will subside, there is something you have to know."

 "How could it be this horrible." She tried to laugh, and actually was 
considering broadway as a career alternative when he smiled,"It's not as much 
as that."

 "What then?"

 "You are phototrophic."

 "I'm a what?"

 "You had phototrathropy, it's a disease that causes you to lose red blood 
cells when exposed to the ultra violet rays of the sun." nat paused, well...it 
sounded good to her.

 "Red blood cells...but that means that I.."

 she stood and poured him a small glass of the blood Lacroix had brought 
him,"You have to intake blood.  You can either had a transfusion every day, or 
drink it, you opted for drinking about 2 years ago."

 to nat's pleasure, he looked disgusted,"Blood?"

 "Yes, and you cannot go out in the daylight.  It is just to dangerout for 
your skin."

 "Wy didn't you tell me this yesterday?"

 natalie blushed,'We were a little busy."

 He laughed and pulled her into his arms, drinking the blood she offered him 
without a second thought.

 'One day..."Nat thought ahppily as she snuggeled closer...'One day I'm going 
to have to tell him.'  She paused and then sighed as he kissed her deeply, 
offering more of what they had shared the day before. 'But not today.'  
***************************************************************** 
response, flames, oreos, letters of recommendation, definitions of "irony" 
and/or Geriant Wyn Davies home address to randolph@tenet.edu 
 
 
"I do hope this wave of altrusim passes quickly, it's 
quite...distressing."--LaCroix, Night in Question 
 
There was Nat's fatal mistake...they'd been claiming allergies for years..why 
not make him believe that...for a while anyway....ah well, onward and upward 
*****************************************************************