This is a FK/HL xover. All the characters and concept of FK belong 
to TriStar, Inc. and all the HL characters and concept belong to 
Davis/Panzr, Inc. No infringement is intended. The rest of the cast 
and this story belong to and are copyrighted by me. As before, all 
the characters are bent to fit the story, not the other way around.
The poem LaCroix cites is 'somewhere i have never traveled'  by 
E. E. Cummings, slightly shortened and paraphrased. The poem is 
copyrighted by someone, don't know by whom, but all copyright kudos 
belongs to them. 
All and any comments etc. are extremely welcome. 
This story is a sequel to my story -Revenge Is Sweet?- which can be 
found on my website at http://www.dlc.fi/~dce/fic/index.html  
And last, but not least, big thanx to my beta-readers Bob and Corie.



ONE BIG, HAPPY FAMILY ?  (1/4)
by Claudia Bart
c. 1997


Antonia sat at the bar waiting for LaCroix to wrap up his radio show. 
They had come back to Toronto two weeks before and things were back 
to ‘business as usual’. The Raven hadn’t changed one bit since the 
last time she had seen it. Music was still as loud as ever and the 
crowd was somewhat - unique. She sighed a little and took a sip from 
her glass of ginger ail; no house specials for her, thank you very much. 

She looked up when she felt someone touch her elbow. 
"Bored already, mon cherie?" LaCroix smiled at her. 
"Well, since everyone knows I’m with you no-one bothers me around here 
but it sort of limits any chance of conversation..." she answered and 
smiled then a little crookedly, "but then, I guess most of the patrons 
don’t come here for the conversation anyway...."    
"Well, if it’s *conversation* you want, my dear, we better retire to our 
*private* quarters...." 
Antonia laughed at the sly look on his face. 
"Why do I get this distinctive feeling that conversation isn’t the first 
thing in your mind, either?"   
"You wound me, my dear! What else could I have in mind?" LaCroix feigned 
hurt. 

Then he took her hand and they made their way to the back of the 
club. On they way Antonia overheard a few muffled remarks about
"LaCroix’ 
mortal pet". It wasn’t the first time she heard those comments since 
they had come back from Paris and they were really starting to piss her 
off. 

When they got to their apartment LaCroix pulled her to his arms and 
kissed her thoroughly. It caused her to lose all coherent thought, as 
usual. She gave a content sigh as the kiss came to an end and withdrew 
slightly from his arms to look at him. 
"You know, if I _ever_ hear you refer to me as your pet, mortal or 
otherwise, I will take great pleasure in personally staking you", she 
smiled at him tenderly. 
"You would, too, wouldn’t you, my dear?" LaCroix smiled amused. 
"You better believe it, buster", Antonia laughed lightly. 
Then she continued with a more serious note, "I went to see some 
apartments today and some of them seemed actually quite promising..."    
"Apartments?" LaCroix lifted his brow questioningly.  
"Yeah, I thought we should get a place of our own." 
"My dear, we already have one."    
"I am not going to live above a nightclub, Lucien, even if it _is_ the 
Raven", she had a stern look on her face. 
Then her look softened as she continued: "I’d just like us to have 
some more privacy. You know, a place where I wouldn’t constantly have 
to wonder if someone can hear us or not." 
LaCroix regarded her sincere expression before answering: "They can’t 
hear us, my dear. But, you do have a point - a private place would 
have it’s benefits." 

A broad smile appeared on Antonia’s face but before she could say 
anything he continued: "An apartment, however, is not the answer. If we 
are going to do this then we should do it properly from the start. We 
will need a house."    
"A house?"    
"Yes. One big enough for the whole family", LaCroix started to warm up 
to the idea and was already thinking of suitable locations. 

Antonia took a few steps back, dumbstruck. 
"Are you telling me that Nick and Janette would be moving in with us?" 
she finally managed.  
He was totally missing the whole point why she wanted them to move in 
the first place. LaCroix stopped his planning. 
"They wouldn’t, even if I wanted them to", he said and continued then 
as he saw the incredulous look on her face, "No, I am not planning us 
all living together. But the house must be big enough for us all, just 
in case."    
"In case of what?" Antonia didn’t understand. 
"In case there’s ever an emergency of any kind", he looked at her 
seriously, "*especially*, with my kind. It is better to plan ahead." 

Antonia knew what he meant and what kind of emergency he was 
talking about. 
"Is there something going on that I should know about, Lucien?"   
"No", LaCroix smiled at her reassuringly, "Like I said, it is simply
wise 
to plan ahead, my dear." 

Then he continued with a lighter note: "Well, now that we have settled 
that little issue, I seem to recall you being in the mood for some - 
conversation...."  
Antonia saw the devilish smile on his face and backed down a couple of 
steps. 
"Lucien...", she warned him grinning but he simply scooped her into 
his arms and carried her to the bedroom. There he unceremoniously 
dropped her to their bed causing Antonia to yelp a little. 
"Just what do you think you're doing?" she asked him pressing down a 
giggle. 
"If you haven't figured it out yet, my dear, I must be doing something 
wrong", he answered flashing a little gold in his eyes into her 
direction. 
"Well, don't feel too bad about it, Lucien. Most men your age can't even 
remember the little you do...." Antonia teased him trying unsuccessfully 
not to laugh out loud. 
That simply caused LaCroix to lift his brow as only he could: 
"Such disrespect.... Now, I have no choice but to punish you, my dear." 

With that he went for her most ticklish spots just under her ribcage and 
tormented her until she squirmed giggling underneath him and barely 
managed to beg mercy between her bouts of laughter. 
"All right! All right! I'm sorry," she panted trying to catch her
breath, 
"I think I can figure out what you are trying to do if give me a few
more 
clues...." 
And then she shrieked out of laughter again as he started to tickle her 
anew.

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

Once LaCroix put his mind into something he did not waste any time. 
Four nights later he took Antonia to see a house his real-estate agent 
said met with all the requirements he had stated. 

The house was located in a suitably private area at the edge of the 
town. It was a two storey building with a nice front yard. It was 
beautiful, Antonia had to admit as she got out of the car. LaCroix 
saw the approving look on her face and ushered her inside the house. 
It had four bedrooms, a huge living room with a nice fireplace in it, 
a couple of extra rooms downstairs and a very impressive, high-tech 
looking kitchen. It even had a wine cellar. 

"Wow", Antonia commented after they were finished with they grand tour, 
"it’s very impressive."    
"Yes, I believe it will suite us very nicely", was LaCroix’ slightly 
less enthustiatic response. 
They were standing in front of the french-windows in the living room. 
"It has a nice view and everything", Antonia said, "and it wouldn’t be 
too hard to re-do the security system, either." 

She smiled at LaCroix’ expression: "Yes, I notice that kind of things. 
It’s my business to.... used to be my business to notice them. I worked 
in this big security consultant company for over four years, and I was 
pretty darn good at it, too." 
"Do tell, my dear", LaCroix was truly interested. 
"There’s nothing to tell, really. But I know security business. That and 
computers.  How else did you think I managed to track down Garrett?" 
Her tone lost some of it’s amusement towards the end. 
"You said once that there where two of them. Did you ever find the other 
one?" LaCroix asked. 
Antonia shook her head slowly: "No. His former ‘business associates’ beat 
me to it. It was a hit and run ‘accident’, he died immediately." 

Antonia was lost in her memories for a while but then she pushed them 
away from her mind. 
"Anyway, about the house... " 
She was interrupted by LaCroix: "You *do* like it, don’t you, my dear?"   
"Yes, it’s absolutely beautiful", Antonia sighed, "but don’t you think 
it’s a bit expensive?"    
"You needn’t worry about that, my dear."    
"Well, you may not worry about it since you’re obsienly rich but for the 
rest of us money is a pretty big deal", Antonia said dryly. 
"Well, maybe this will make it easier on you, my dear", LaCroix said 
handing her a few papers. 
"What are these?"    
"Just read them."

Antonia glanced at the first one. 
"You bought it? You bought it, already?!" her head snapped up quickly. 
"Just read the rest of it, my dear", LaCroix told her calmly. 
The second document made Antonia gasp. 
"No. I can’t take it! Lucien..." LaCroix looked mildly amused at her 
reaction. 
"It’s a gift, my dear", he explained as if to a child. 
"Nononono. A box of chocolates is a gift. A house is a...", Antonia 
didn’t know what to say. 
"A gift I can well afford", LaCroix finished her sentence for her. 

Antonia simply stood there, her mouth open and shaking her head. She was 
totally and utterly out of words. And if her memory served it wasn’t the 
first time he had done it to her, either. 

Finally she gave a heavy sigh and said feebly: "Lucien, you know, you 
really can’t keep on doing things like this." 
"And why not?", he asked calmly, "or is this one of your ‘I need to do 
this on my own’ things?"    
"No", Antonia couldn’t help smiling just a little at his tone, "This is 
one my ‘us being equals’ speeches. I’m with you because of you, not 
because of your money, and this...." 
"Well, if it means that much to you, you can always buy me a present in 
return, my dear", LaCroix said as if that would take care of it. 
Antonia rolled her eyes at that. 
"Yeah right. You buy me a house and I’ll get you ...what? Pair of 
cuff-links?"    
"There. You see it wasn’t that difficult, my dear", LaCroix said
satisfied.
 
Antonia felt really worn-out. He did that to her at times. Two thousand 
years old and he doesn’t recognize sarcasm when it’s thrown to his face. 
Now, that was sad. Oh heck, who was she kidding, he had taken the easy
way 
out and she knew damn well there wasn’t a thing she could do about it.
He could be so darned stubborn when he wanted to. 

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

Four weeks later at the Raven

"I really am quite impressed with the new security system you designed, 
my dear", LaCroix said holding Antonia's hand over the table they were 
sitting at. 
"Well, thank you", Antonia smiled at him teasingly, "I bet you didn't 
think I could do it."   
"Au contraire, my dear. I think you can do just about anything you put 
your mind into", LaCroix stated playing with her fingers. 
"Well then, would you like to dance? It is a slow piece", Antonia
suggested.
"I'm afraid it still isn't my kind of music, my dear." 
Antonia studied his face for a while and then lightly shrugged her 
shoulders: "Guess I'll just have to find someone else, then." 

With that she got up from her seat and scanned the Raven. Finally her 
eyes stopped at the dark haired figure standing at the bar. 
She leaned close to LaCroix for a second and whispered into his ear: 
"Don't worry, I'll be good."   
"Yes, *that* is what I'm worried about," LaCroix answered smiling dryly. 
Antonia chuckled at that and squeezed his arm lightly before she headed 
towards the bar.


"Hello Vachon." 
Vachon turned and smiled slyly when he recognized her: "Antonia." 
"Wanna dance?" 

At first Vachon wasn't sure he had heard correctly, then he turned his 
head so he he could see LaCroix sitting at his table. 
"I meant with me", Antonia said dryly when she saw who he was looking at, 
"don't worry about Lucien, he won't bite, I promise." 
Vachon lifted his brow at that but then took her hand and led her to the 
dancefloor. 

Vachon had to admit, LaCroix had a good taste when it came to women. He 
didn't really know Antonia that well, but he had seen her often enough 
when she came to the Raven with LaCroix. They had talked a few times and 
he kind of liked her attitude. And he sure liked the burgundy red dress 
she was sporting tonight. The only thing he hadn't figured out was how 
come she was still mortal. After all, she and LaCroix had been an item 
for quite a while now. Then he decided it really wasn't his business
what was going on between LaCroix and Antonia and concentrated on dancing.

Antonia liked dancing with Vachon, he really could move well. She glanced 
at LaCroix over Vachon's shoulder and saw him flirting with a drop-dead 
gorgeous red-head. That skunk! She almost seethed as she saw the woman 
pat his arm and smile at him seductively, at least that's how it looked 
to Antonia. As soon as the dance ended she thanked Vachon and went 
straight to LaCroix. 

"Enjoying yourself?" she asked a bit more scathingly than she had 
intended as she sat down. 
LaCroix looked at her with a smile which infuriated Antonia even more. 
"My, I believe you are jealous, my dear", he almost purred. 
"Jealous?" Antonia repeated incredulously at first then she changed her 
tone, "So, what if I am? If I were you I wouldn't talk about being j
ealous. If memory serves, not too long ago, you were the one who almost 
ripped some poor guy's head off just because we were dancing."   
"He should've kept his hands in check", LaCroix responded nonchalantly, 
"as for Isabelle, she's just an old friend, passing through." 
"I guess someone ought to tell her that I don't like trespassers", 
Antonia said only half jokingly. 

LaCroix regarded her for a moment, smiling contently. He had never seen 
this side of her before but he decided that he rather liked it. 
"Contrary to the rumors over the years, Isabelle and I have never been 
more than friends, my dear", he then said to her almost tenderly. 
Antonia kept her eyes slightly narrowed as she looked at him: "If you 
say so."     

"I say so. And now, my dear, I'm afraid my faithful listeners are 
waiting", LaCroix said planting a small kiss on the back of her hand. 
"I guess that's my cue", Antonia said already smiling a little and
pulled her leather jacket on, "I have a few things to take care of and then
I'll be heading home." 

LaCroix watched her make her exit. Before she stepped out of the door 
she turned to look at him and gave him a dazzling smile which would've 
made his heart skip a beat if it wasn't for it's somewhat slow rhythm. 
Then he turned and went to his broadcasting booth. It was Nightcrawler
time.

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

Antonia shivered a little in the chilly but clear April weather as she 
walked towards her car. It was parked a few blocks away since that had 
been the closest available space earlier in the evening when they had 
arrived. She was suddenly brought out of her thoughts by a muffled cry 
for help. She stopped to listen. Hearing it again, Antonia rushed to 
the nearby alley and saw an older woman struggling with a young male 
barely out of his teens. He had a nasty looking switchblade on his left 
hand and he shoved it towards the woman as she tried to move. Before 
she knew what was happening he had sank the blade into the woman's 
stomach and grabbed for her purse.

"Hey!" Antonia yelled. 
The punk looked up alarmed but that soon changed into a smug smile when 
he saw that she was alone. Antonia risked a quick glance at the woman 
who had sank to the ground. She would need to get an ambulance for her, 
fast. And that meant she couldn't afford to waste much time on this
human 
garbage, she thought as she parried his swipe with the switchblade. She 
grabbed his arm and yanked it behind his back in one fluent motion, 
forcing him to drop the blade. She brought his arm high enough for him
to 
cry out in pain and to drop on his knees. He wouldn’t be going anywhere.

"Put your hand here and keep the pressure on", she ordered him placing 
his other hand over the woman's wound. When he tired to show her some bad 
attitude she snapped: "Do it or I'll brake your arm." 
The look in his eyes wished her to the deepest hell but there was nodoubt 
she would carry out her threat. So, biting his tongue, he did as he was 
told. With one hand Antonia pulled a cellularphone from her jacket pocket and 
called the ambulance.

********

end of part 1
-- 
Claude
*NatPacker**N&NPacker**HB**shades of NA*

One Big, Happy Family? (2/4)
by Claudia Bart
c.1997


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

The next evening Antonia drove back to the hospital . She had stayed 
there late last night until the woman had gotten out of surgery and 
she had been sure she was going to be all right. It had felt so good 
to know that she had made a difference, that she had saved a life. 
And it had all been that much sweeter because she had also gotten the 
one responsible and that she knew that he was behind bars now.

"Excuse, I'm here to see Miriam Smythe." 
The nurse looked up from the form she was studying. 
"Miriam Smythe?" she asked. 
"Yes, she was brought in here last night. A stabbing victim...." Antonia 
explained. 
"Ah, yes. Are you family?"   
"No. I'm the one who found her and I just wanted to see how she was
doing." 
"I'm sorry but Mrs. Smythe died early this morning", the nurse said 
sounding sympathetic. 
"What?! But they said she was going to be all right..." Antonia tried to 
mumble. 
"I'm afraid she started to bleed again and she didn't make it through 
the second operation", the nurse explained. 
Antonia simply stared at her for a moment. 
"Are you all right, Miss?" the nurse asked concerned at her paleness. 
"Yeah,....yeah, I'm fine", Antonia answered slowly still trying to 
comprehend what she had just heard. 


She got to her car somehow and just sat there for a long time staring 
into the air, seeing nothing. How could she be dead? She had made it 
through surgery, everything was supposed to be fine. Antonia fingered 
the steering wheel absent minded trying to collect her thoughts but it 
was no use. 

"I was too late. I must be the angel of death or something.... ", she 
thought exhausted. 
The joy she had felt earlier had been swept away as if she had never 
even felt it. It seemed like every one around her just - died, just like 
Miriam Smythe. Her parents, Elaine..., Elaine's husband.... All right,
so 
Robert had died of a heart-attack but still, he was dead wasn't he? 
Antonia took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a few seconds. She
was 
so tired. Just - tired. The simple act of turning the car-key to start 
the engine seemed to require far too much energy right now. 
Finally she decided to go home. That's where she needed to be. She 
needed Lucien.

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

The sound of something breaking greeted her when she got home. 
"Lucien?" she called and headed to the living room. What she saw in 
there was the last thing she had expected to see: Nick and LaCroix, 
both in full vampire mode, at each other's throats. 
"What a...Will you two stop it!" she ordered and went to break them off. 
That was a mistake.
 
Nick was trying to get a swipe at LaCroix when suddenly Antonia was 
there and his hand  hit her instead. It wasn't a hard stroke, by vampire 
standards, but it was powerful enough to hurl her head back and to 
snap her neck in the process. She was dead before she hit the floor. 
LaCroix threw Nick forcefully out of his way and kneeled to pick her up. 
He gently laid her to the couch which somehow was still in one piece, 
only then turning his attention back to Nick. 

"I..I didn't mean to...." Nick stammered. 
"You seldom mean to do anything, Nicholas", LaCroix interrupted him, 
"and yet, things always seem to happen when you're concerned. You're 
lucky since she happens to be Immortal but I will not tolerate this kind 
of thing again, Nicholas. *No-one* touches her without facing the 
consequences."

Nick hadn't meant to hurt her, she had nothing to do with the row
between 
him and LaCroix. But he hadn't forgotten why he had come to see LaCroix 
in the first place. 
"So, now the shoe is in the other foot. Tell me LaCroix, how do you like 
it?" he asked in a low voice. 
"After this, I would watch it, Nicholas, or something may indeed happen 
to your precious Natalie", LaCroix said menacingly. 
Then he changed his tone and sneered: "Really Nicholas. If I wanted to 
follow the good doctor or to search her apartment, do you really think 
she would've seen as much as my shadow?" 
Nick considered that for a second before he replied: "Not unless you 
wanted her to see you." 
LaCroix lifted his brow ever so slightly: "And why would I want that, 
Nicholas?"  
"Maybe you wanted to scare her off or maybe you just got bored and 
wanted to play a little. I don't know and I don't care. What I do know, 
is that someone went through her apartment, like they were searching 
for something but nothing was taken. I also know that Natalie 
saw someone following her. And that someone matched *your* description 
LaCroix."     
"So you think that I am the only tall, blond man who wares a long, black 
leather coat in Toronto. You know, sometimes I really wonder how you
ever 
manage to solve any of your cases if you handle them with as much 
professionalism as you do this", LaCroix mocked him, "But then again, 
maybe it is your partner who does the crime-solving in your little
team."

Before Nick managed to snap anything back at him Antonia made a small 
sound telling them that she was coming back. 



Antonia felt a little disoriented as she opened her eyes and wondered 
why she was lying on the couch. Then she saw Nick and it all came back 
to her. 
She pushed herself up and on her feet as Nick began to apologize: 
"Antonia, I'm sorry . I didn't..."    
"Nick, forget it, it was an accident. Guess that'll teach me to be more 
careful the next time I try to stop two vampires from fighting", she 
sighed and looked around the shattered room. 
They had been thorough if nothing else, she thought as she saw all 
the broken furniture. She bent to pick up a photograph of Elaine; the 
glass was broken and the pieces fell to the ground. Carefully she placed 
the picture on the drawer, then she turned to see the two of them. 

"All right, which one of you is going to tell me what the hell is going 
on here?" 
She gave them her best 'you're in big trouble, now' look and waited. 
Nick started to say something but LaCroix cut him off quickly. 
"It's a family matter." 
As soon as LaCroix said it he knew it was a mistake.


For a few heartbeats Antonia could just stare at him, not believing 
what he had said. 
"Family... And what am I? Chopped liver?!" 
No, this was too much, it had been a night from hell and she was tired 
and she wouldn't take any more. 
"No, I don't want to hear it", she cut him off, "I don't care." 
She gave a small, bitter laugh as she watched the two of them in front 
of her: "You know, I don't give a damn. You two can go suck each other, 
for all I care!" 
With that she turned around and was about to leave when suddenly LaCroix 
was there, blocking her way. She stared at him, furious and hurt. 
"Get out of my way, LaCroix." 

He would've preferred if she had yelled but she spoke in a low, quiet 
voice which was further backed by the fire in her eyes. And she never 
called him LaCroix. Yes, she would need time to calm down. After that 
she would listen to him.
Silently LaCroix stepped aside and she left.

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

Antonia drove around the town for an hour or two trying to decide what 
she would do next. There was no way she was going back to the house that 
night;  the temptation to stake a certain blond vampire might prove to
be 
too much to resist. 

So, he didn’t think of her as part of the family. Sure, she was Immortal 
but she wasn’t a bloodsucking creature of the night. Maybe that was what 
was missing from her in his eyes. 
"What the heck am I to him, anyway? A quick roll in the hay?!" she asked 
herself furiously. 
Then it occurred to her that he had never even told her that he loved
her. 
"Well, after tonight I guess I shouldn’t be surprised..." she ranted on. 

Finally she felt the adrenaline rush start to fade and being replaced 
by the exhaustion she had felt earlier in the evening. Only now, it felt 
twice as bad. She would have to find a place to stay for that night. 

The receptionist at the hotel told her that she was in luck. The hotel 
was almost full because of some medical symposium but they had two 
canceled reservations just that evening. Antonia didn’t pay much 
attention to his chatter and just hoped that she would get her key 
soon so she could go and get some sleep.


Antonia didn’t sleep well. Too many things running through her mind. 
And of course her daily, or rather her nightly, rhythm was all screwed 
up. She usually slept during the days because of LaCroix and his little 
problem with the sun. When she finally got out of the bed in the morning 
she didn’t feel much better than she had last night. 

She took a quick, cold shower in hopes that it would wake her up. Then 
she started to make a mental list of all the things she planned to do 
that day. She would have to try and find a job. It wasn’t just because 
of last night. She had thought of it for a while now and as things were 
it seemed to be the perfect time to do so. But first things first, she 
reminded herself when her stomach rumbled loudly.


She was waiting for her turn to return her room-key when suddenly the 
hair on the back of her head seemed to stand up. She had this strange 
feeling  she hadn’t felt since - Paris. Another Immortal. She felt her 
mouth go a bit dryer as she remembered the recent headlines about the 
'Guillotine Murderer'  and she scolded herself silently for not keeping 
her sword with her. Or why hadn’t she done as Lucien had suggested and 
kept the blasted thing in her car. Yeah, right. Much good that would do 
for her now. She was nowhere near her car. 

She tried to scan the hotel lobby inconspicuously. But since no-one was 
swinging a sword above their heads she couldn’t tell which one of the 
people around her was the one she was searching for. Then her eyes 
stopped at a petite woman who looked like she, too was looking for 
someone. The woman was about her height and she had  dark hair which 
was swept into a bun. She was wearing a white soft knitted sweater and 
dark trousers. There was nothing threatening about her. But as Antonia 
knew, looks could be deceiving. And she intended to follow the advise 
her martial arts instructor had given her years ago - "always be 
prepared".

The woman walked towards her and when she was close enough she 
introduced herself: "I’m Grace Chandler."  
"Antonia Jones." 
She waited for a while and when the other one didn’t say or do anything 
Antonia asked: "Now what?" 
That made Grace smile: "You must be a young one."  
"Being young does not necessarily equal harmless", Antonia replied 
still cautious. 
"True", Grace nodded, "but I am not after your head."

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

end of part 2
-- 
Claude
*NatPacker**N&NPacker**HB**shades of NA*

One Big, Happy Family? (3/4)
by Claudia Bart
c.1997


Natalie woke up rested and feeling great. She stretched herself thoroughly 
and self-indulgently and smiled just a little bit sleepily as she stroked 
the black silk sheets with her fingers. She looked around Nick's bedroom 
not quite ready to get out of bed yet. He had insisted that she stay at 
his place for a few days after she had noticed that someone had been to 
her apartment. Not that she had objected his idea too loudly. 

She wrinkled her brows slightly when she remembered how she had thought 
she had seen LaCroix following her. She had told Nick she couldn't swear 
it had been him but the glimpse she had seen sure reminded her of LaCroix. 
That and the fact that nothing had been found at her apartment had worried 
her for a while. But nothing had happened after that so she had pushed 
the matter out of her mind.

Finally she got up and hit the shower. It was a great morning she decided 
as she swiped the soap off her face. She was attending a medical symposium 
which would go on for another two days and during that time she was off 
work; a fact she really didn't mind especially after Nick had told her 
about the two beheaded bodies which were found earlier that week. And she 
actually got to see the sun for a change. Of course that also meant that 
she didn't see that much of Nick but staying at his loft kind of balanced 
the situation in her mind.

She got out of the shower and rinsed herself dry. She hummed a little as 
she got dressed into her new, fuchsia suit. She knew she wasn't cheerful 
just because of the sun and all that but it was mostly because she had a 
potential lead on Nick's cure. She had met this truly amazing woman, 
Grace Chandler, at the symposium. She had done some extensive research 
in South-America and she had agreed to meet her for breakfast today to 
discuss her work. Natalie knew that most likely Grace's work would not 
be of help but there was always that odd chance that it *would* be. And 
she would take any chance she could get. 

Natalie went quietly downstairs. Luckily Nick had left the little light 
in the kitchen area on, so she could see where she was going. The sight 
of Nick sleeping on the couch stopped her to her tracks. He looked so 
peaceful in his sleep. No nightmares today. She had the strong urge to 
run her fingers through his unruly, golden mane. But she managed to 
resist it valiantly since it would no doubt wake him up and he needed 
his sleep. So, she contented herself with just standing there, watching 
him sleep. 

Finally she got out of her reverie and realized that she would be late 
for her appointment if she didn't hurry. 
"Wish me luck", she whispered to Nick before she left.

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

"Grace! I'm sorry I'm a little late", Natalie greeted before she realized 
that Grace wasn't alone, "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt anything."  
"You didn't", Grace assured her smiling and made the introductions, 
"Antonia Jones, Dr. Natalie Lambert." 

Natalie looked at the woman standing before her. Could it be.... 
The woman was rather short and she had straight  auburn hair which 
reached to her shoulders. Her eyes were gray and she looked a couple 
of years younger than herself. 

Well, she looked the way Nick had described Antonia to be but she didn't 
strike to Natalie as LaCroix' type. Then again, she didn't have a clue 
what _was_ LaCroix' type. In fact, Natalie was hard pressed to think that 
_anyone_ would be LaCroix' type. Then she realized that she was being 
studied just as carefully by the other woman. 

"It's nice to meet you. I have heard so much about you", Antonia extended 
her hand to her. 

Natalie took the offered hand wondering amusedly just how LaCroix would 
have described her to Antonia. 
"Likewise."  
Grace looked at them perplexed: "You two know each other?"  
"No, but we have...", Natalie hesitated a second, "friends in common."  
"It certainly is a small world", Grace smiled. Then she turned to Antonia: 
"We were just going to get some breakfast, would you like to join us?" 

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

She had rather liked Natalie, Antonia thought as she was walking down 
the street.  She had eaten her breakfast and excused herself shortly 
after when she had realized that Grace and Natalie had planned on 
discussing their research work. They obviously didn't know each other 
very well and she smiled a little when she thought how they would react 
if they knew the truth about one another, Grace being an Immortal and 
Natalie knowing of and being involved with a vampire. 

Then her smile broadened as she thought of herself: "Yeah, look who's 
talking! You're an Immortal *and* you're involved with a vampire." 
But as Duncan had told her, not many Immortals knew of the existence of 
vampires and vice versa, and that was for a reason, so she shouldn't 
spread the knowledge around too lightly. 

The thought of vampires reminded her of Lucien and her smile faded. She 
knew she would have to talk to him but that would have to wait until
that 
night since he would be sleeping during the day. It was not a discussion 
she looked forward to. She had no idea what she would say to him. She 
sighed as she thought of last night. Maybe she had over reacted..... 
Then again, maybe she hadn't. 
"Oh, what's the use of going it over, again and again", she thought 
exasperated, "The fact remains, he sees me as an outsider and that's it. 
What I have to decide is whether I am willing to live with that or not."

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

The house was dark and quiet when she got there. 
"Maybe he has left to the Raven already", Antonia thought as she closed 
the front door behind her. 
She stood there, listening for a while before she walked slowly to 
the living room and switched the tablelamp on.

Every piece of evidence of the fight had been cleared out - the damaged 
furniture had been replaced, the broken bits of glass had been removed.... 
It was as if none of it had ever happened. Even the glass of Elaine's 
picture had been repaired. 

She took the picture in her hands and watched it for a long time; such 
happy memories, such loss, such pain....  When she finally looked up from 
the picture, he was there, standing in the doorway looking silently at
her. 

They just looked at each other for a long time, saying nothing. Finally 
he broke the silence. 
"I heard about  Miriam Smythe."    
"Yeah, well, things happen. Yet another number in the statistics", she 
said bitterly refusing the sympathy he offered with his tone. 
LaCroix regarded her face for a moment before he said keeping his tone 
carefully neutral: "She _was_ mortal and mortals _do_ die...." 

Antonia looked at him not believing her ears. 
She shook her head and said through clenched teeth: "Well, maybe when I 
have lived for as long as you have I will think that they are just mortals 
but before then..... Yeah, Miriam Smythe was mortal. So was my sister, 
and now they're both dead. But that doesn't mean that they didn't matter. 
They did matter. They _do_ matter. And you know what, _I_ matter."    
"I know you do", LaCroix said trying to soothe the pain in her eyes. 
"And I deserve better", Antonia said with a tone which, to LaCroix, had 
an alarming sound of finality to it. 
And in that instant it became horrifyingly clear to him that she was 
going to leave. 

For the first time in millenniums he felt panic. It was not a pleasant 
feeling, especially to one as old as he was. And the pain; it was worse 
than the time when Nicholas had staked him. He did not care much for 
that feeling, either. 

Antonia took a deep breath trying to get her feelings back in check. 
Then she said with a soft and a little sad voice, wanting to make him 
understand: "There's is no-one else for me. You're it. You're the only 
one I have left to call family.... And to know that you don't feel the 
same.... It's lonely being on the outside - and I don't want to be alone 
anymore."    
"You're not on the outside. What happened with Nicholas was an old 
argument and I didn't want you to get caught in the middle of it", 
LaCroix tried to explain,  his  eyes sincere. 
Antonia swallowed a lump down her throat. 
"I know 800 years is a long time, especially when it's compared to the 
time we have known each other. Now, I don't expect you to tell and explain 
every little thing you do to me but when it  involves wrecking our home
I think it becomes my business, too. And you just completely shut me out. 
You made me an outsider in a house I am supposed to call my home. And
when a home isn't home anymore, it's time to move on."

It had physically hurt to say it but she meant it all. She knew what 
family, Nick and Janette, meant to him and if he didn't think she was 
important enough to  be included to that family - she would leave. She 
loved him and leaving him was the last thing she wanted to do but love 
was a precious thing and she would not waste hers on someone who didn’t 
love her back. It would be hard but she would survive; she had done it 
before and she would do it again. She'd have to.

She looked at the picture of Elaine still in her hands, forcing the 
tears to stay at bay, and she carefully put it back on the drawer.


LaCroix knew she meant every word she said. This wasn't a game and she 
wasn't bluffing. He knew that she was much like himself in that it was 
hard for her to let others get close to her. He also knew that she could 
be fiercely loyal and true to those she loved, to those she considered 
family but once her trust had been shattered it would be hard, if not 
impossible, to restore. But LaCroix also knew himself. He had never been 
one to give in without a fight and he wasn't about to start now. He
would not lose her. He knew she loved him; he tasted it in her blood every
time they made love. Now, he had to make sure she would know what she meant
to him. He would not lose her.

He stepped close to her and lifted his cold fingers to caress her warm 
cheek. He saw Antonia close her eyes shortly to savor his touch. 
"This is your home and we *are* your family - *I* am your family." 
 
He whispered to her:
"somewhere i have never traveled, gladly beyond
any experience, your eyes have their silence:
in your most frail gesture are things which enclose me.
or which i cannot touch because they are too near.

your slightest look easily will unclose me
though i have closed myself as fingers,
you open always petal by petal myself as Spring opens
(touching skillfully, mysteriously) her first rose

or if your wish to be close me, i and
my unlife will shut very beautifully, suddenly,
as when the heart of this flower imagines
the snow everywhere descending;

nothing which we are to perceive in this world equals
the power of your intense fragility
(i do not know what it is about you that closes
and opens; only something in me understands
the voice of your eyes is deeper than all roses)

That is how I feel about you. That is what you mean to me, what you do 
to me. Tu es mon ceour, ma vie. Je t'aime - pour toujour", his voice was 
a low whisper and he had the slightest tint of gold in his eyes as he 
bowed his head towards her and kissed her. 

It was a soft, tender kiss and it made Antonia feel dizzy. He was so 
gentle, it was almost as if he was afraid that she would break by his 
touch. And then, all too soon, the kiss ended. 

LaCroix watched her slowly open her eyes. Her breathing was light and 
her heart was beating fast. She was a part of him, her blood run through 
him but would she believe him, would she trust his love?

It took a while for Antonia to focus her eyes again. She wanted to 
believe him, his words, more than anything. 

LaCroix saw the flicker of doubt in her gray eyes as she regarded him, 
contemplating his words. 
"Pour toujour, mon amour", he said not swaying his eyes from her.

Like in a trance Antonia lightly laid her head against his chest and 
closed her eyes. He had never before said that he loved her, not with 
those exact words. He may be the greatest actor the world had, she had 
seen him manipulate many enough people to know what he was capable of, 
but no-one could say what he had just said the way he said it and not 
mean it. If she was making a fool of herself by believing and trusting 
him, so be it. But she would take the slightest chance *with* him than 
no chance *without* him. She gave a small, content sigh as she felt him 
close her in his arms. She felt at home, at last.

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

Two nights later

Nick was buried deep in paperwork when he was interrupted by Tracy. 
"Hey Nick, check that out", she said nodding towards someone behind 
him, "doesn’t he kinda look like that creepy guy, the Nightcrawler?" 

That got Nick’s attention and he swirled around in his chair. She was 
right. The guy between the two uniforms was young, in his early twenties, 
but there was an uncanny resemblance to LaCroix. They were both tall with 
similar haircuts and this guy sported the same kind of long leather coat 
LaCroix wore on occasion. 
Nick narrowed his eyes as he studied the man. Coincidence, or not? 

Nick got up and strolled to the officers: "Hey Addison, what's he in for?"  
"Breaking and entering among other things", Addison answered, "He broke 
in into several hotel rooms at the Crescent Moon -hotel. Why?"    
"Just curious", Nick said nonchalantly. 
Addison gave him skeptical look: "A-ha." 
Nick overlooked his tone and continued: "Crescent Moon. Isn't that where 
they're having the medical symposium?"   
"Yeah. That's how we found him. He was following one of the guests, a 
Grace Chandler. She says she had seen him a few times but had thought 
that he was just one of the guests at the symposium. Her room was one of 
those he broke into, and the one where we found the most impressive 
collection of his fingerprints." 
"Mind if I ask him a few questions?" Nick asked.   
"Be my guest", Addison answered, he kind of wanted to see what Knight 
was after with this one.

Nick looked into the man’s eyes and listened for his heartbeat. 
"Did you take a particular interest at anyone else besides Grace Chandler
at the symposium?" he then asked. 
The man blinked a few times before he said: "The symposium... that lady
doctor...."    
"What lady doctor?" Nick asked not releasing his eyes. 
"The brunette with a curly hair...."
Natalie. It had to be Natalie, Nick thought narrowing his eyes. The idea
that this scum had been following her made him see red. 
"Did you brake into her apartment, as well?"
The man blinked again a few times: "Yeah."
"OK Knight, are you through with him already?" Addison asked. 
He didn't have all night. 
Nick turned to look at him. "Yeah, I'm through with him", he then 
answererd and walked back to his desk.

Coincidece or not?

Tracy looked at Nick and wondered what that had been all about. 
Before she turned back to her terminal she gave one last thoughtful 
look at Nick. 
"Oh, great", she sighed silently to herself, "he’s zoned out again and I 
just know who ends up doing all this paperwork - again."

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

LaCroix sat at the Raven’s back room with a glass of the house-special 
in his hand, leafing through the papers in front of him. Just as he 
had suspected. There was nothing in them which would help Nicholas in 
his foolish quest. He smiled satisfied and leaned back in his chair.

He had taken care of all the loose ends as well as made certain that 
Nicholas would find out about the 'true' perpetrator. 
All was as it should be with his little family. 

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

end of part 3
-- 
Claude
*NatPacker**N&NPacker**HB**shades of NA*
One Big, Happy Family? (4/4)
by Claudia Bart
c.1997


Antonia checked her watch for the umpteenth time and sighed audibly. 
Too bad no one was there to hear it. She was waiting for the real-estate 
agent who was supposed to help her look for a place for her own security 
consultant company. Actually, it had been Lucien’s idea. When she had 
told him she was looking for a job he had suggested that she would set 
up her own business instead. She hadn’t been too thrilled about the idea 
at first but here she was.... Actually she still hadn’t made up her mind 
about the whole thing but she thought it wouldn’t hurt to check things 
out. So, here she was, waiting for the blasted agent who was already 
half an hour late to show her this warehouse. Why on earth he thought 
this would be a great place for her business, she didn’t know. The 
whole area was more like an industrial slum than anything else. This 
kind of neighborhood would *not* attract any potential clients, she 
thought to herself. 

She checked her watch again and fished her cellularphone from her jacket 
pocket. She dialed the agent’s number and waited. He answered on the
fifth ring. 
"Mr. Boyle? This is Antonia Jones. We were supposed to have an 
appointment...."     
"Miss Jones? Didn’t anyone from the agency contact you?" a very hoarse 
voice asked her. 
Mr. Boyle obviously had a terrible flue. 
"No, no-one has called me", she answered. 
"I am very sorry, Miss Jones. There must’ve been some mix-up at the 
office. I’m afraid that I am not able to keep our appointment but I will 
make sure that someone from the agency contacts you as soon as possible 
to arrange for another one", Mr. Boyle sounded very apologetic. 
"All right, then. I’ll wait for their call", she sighed, what else could 
she say, and ended the call. 

Great! Now she would be late for her next appointment. Lucien had 
promised to take her out tonight for a dinner and then to the ballet. 
"I better call him and tell him I’m going to be late", she muttered to 
herself. Just as she started to dial the number she felt that feeling 
at the back of her head again. Immortal. Slowly she put the phone back 
into her pocket and scanned the area. 

He came from behind the building's corner, stopped for a split-second 
when he saw her and then cautiously continued to  move her way. He was 
clad casually to jeans and a long, dark blue coat and his black hair 
was cut very short. He looked like he was in his mid-thirties but 
Antonia had no way of knowing how old he really was. 

"Well, well, this must be my lucky day. And I wasn't even hunting", 
he said with a husky voice. 
"I don't want to fight with you. I have no quarrel with you", Antonia 
said carefully keeping on eye on his every move. 
He grinned like she had just said something incredibly funny: 
"Well, it's not going to as much fun but if that's the way you want it....
it's fine with me." 
With a graceful, well practiced  motion he fished his sword from inside 
his coat and said: "This is nothing personal. Just a means to get that 
much closer to the Prize." 
Then he straightened his posture and gave her a salute of sorts with his 
sword: "I am Juan Guardia, and tonight, I will have your head ." 


The good news was that Antonia had done as Lucien had suggested, and she 
now had her sword on the backseat of her car. The bad news was that Juan 
Guardia was between her and the car. She slowly moved to her left, 
keeping her eyes on Guardia and hoped he would counter her movement 
accordingly. She sighed quietly as he did. 

"So, you want to dance a little before you die", Guardia quipped as they 
continued to slowly circle each other. 
Antonia shut her ears from his remarks. 
"Stay cool and think clearly", she reminded herself silently as she 
shed her short leather jacket off and threw it behind her, so it 
wouldn't restrict her movements. 

They both had the same distance to her car now. But that was as far as her 
luck seemed to go. Guardia had decided it was time to end the dance and 
attacked. Antonia barely managed to stay out of his sword's way. She was 
suddenly very glad it was an industrial slum she was in when she saw the 
short pieces of pipe laying on the ground. She grabbed one of them 
thinking it would be better than nothing. And it was, until Guardia cut 
it in two with his next blow. She needed to get to her car and fast. 

Antonia risked a second to pick up a new piece of pipe and paid for it as 
Guardia scratched her arm. She felt it bleed a litte and it stung but she 
pushed it out of her mind. Just then her phone started to ring and it 
distracted Guardia for the briefest of moments. 

That was all Antonia needed. She hit him with the pipe as hard as she 
could causing him to drop his sword. She didn't waste any time and ran 
towards her car. She was almost there when Guardia tackled her. She fell 
to the ground, her palms stinging from the sudden contact with the
asphalt. 
She swung around to face him only to meet his fist as it struck her right 
cheekbone.  For a moment she couldn't really see a thing and she was 
grateful that he hadn't bothered to pick up his sword before he came 
after her. She more felt than saw him bend down to grab her by the front 
of her blouse. She bent her legs as he started to pull her up and shoved 
them into his stomach with all of her strength. Guardia flew on his back 
and Antonia took her chances. 

She managed to pull the backdoor of her car open with slightly trembling 
hands. She had placed a blanket to cover the sword and lost some precious 
seconds pulling the sword from under it but finally she got it. And not 
a moment too soon. Guardia had retrieved his sword and Antonia turned 
just in time to block his stroke with her own sword. She was glad to 
notice that he had finally lost his grin. 

"I am Antonia Jones, and you will *not* take my head."

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

There was still no answer. LaCroix put the receiver down knitting his 
brows and checked his watch yet again. Antonia was usually very punctual 
and it was not like her to bee late. It was times like these which made 
him whish that Antonia was mortal, so he could bring her across and they 
would share that special bond. But, she was Immortal and so, it was not 
to be. 

He tapped the phone a few times with his forefinger and then he made up 
his mind. He looked up the address Antonia had written down and went 
searching for her.


As LaCroix neared his destination he could hear the clashes of metal, 
sword against sword, even before he saw the two figures fighting against 
one another. He descended well beyond their range of vision and neared 
them cautiously, not wanting to unnerve Antonia's concentration. 

His acute sense of smell picked up the sent of sweat and blood  floating 
from their direction and he could hear their heavy breathing. They had 
obviously fought for quite a while already and they were getting tired. 
He narrowed his eyes as he saw the blood oozing from several cuts on 
Antonia and the bruise under her right eye. He viewed her apponent with 
a critical eye and noticed the ease and skill he used his sword with. 


Just then Guradia noticed Lacroix standing there, watching them. 
"A friend of yours?" he asked Antonia nodding towards Lacroix. 
They had circled each other and now Antonia had her back on the direction 
Guardia had indicated with his nod. 
"He doesn’t really expect me to fall for that old routine?" she thought 
to herself not bothering to answer him. 
As soon as she finished her thought she heard LaCroix’ unmistakable 
voice: "I thought we were going out tonight, my dear." 
She froze for a split-second and  she took a while before answering: 
"Yeah, sorry about that, but something came up." 
Then she continued with the same conversational tone: "I don’t believe you 
two have met,  Juan Guardia - Lucien  LaCroix." 

"I hope you have told your friend that there will be no interfering in 
the Game, or doesn’t he know about you?" Guardia said keeping his eyes 
tightly on Antonia. 
"He knows. And he *won’t* interfere", Antonia answered just as she made 
her attack. She managed to get a big cut on Guardia’s left leg.

"Now, that should slow him down considerably", LaCroix thought to himself 
as he watched Antonia advance her attacks. She had been right, up to a 
point. He would not interfere as long as things continued to proceed 
smoothly. But this Guardia character would be dead long before he ever 
got anywhere near Antonia’s head. He would make certain of that. After 
all, the rule about not interfearing was not one of *his* rules.


Suddenly, it seemed that both Antonia and Guardia had gotten tired of 
the whole thing and decided to put an end to the fight as soon as 
possible. They both made swift and fierce attacks managing to do some 
damage on either side. And then, out of the blue, Antonia sank her 
sword half way through Guardia’s abdomen. He dropped to his knees and 
Antonia pulled her sword out, letting his blood pour out to the ground. 

Breathing heavily Antonia glanced at LaCroix before she raised her sword 
high above her head. Then, holding the sword with both hands, she brought 
it down and cut Juan Guardia’s Immortal head. 


Antonia stood there, hanging her head and clasping her sword in her hands. 
Then she slowly lifted her head to see LaCroix and she had the strangest 
expression on her face which he could not quite comprehend. She looked 
lost and ready to cry but at the same time she had this look of resolve 
in her; she had entered the Game and she would not back down.

LaCroix saw her take a few shaky steps towards him and then she was hit 
with the Quickening. A great bolt of energy seemed to leave Guardia's 
headless body and hit Antonia. LaCroix saw the surprise in her gray eyes 
just before she closed them. He did not like the feeling of helplessness 
he got as he watched Antonia drop on her knees and cry out as the 
Quickening mauled her. It seemed to go on forever.

And then it was over as suddenly as it had begun and he was next to her 
in a heartbeat, holding her in his arms.

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

"Oh, come on Nick. It isn't that bad", Natalie smiled at Nick's expression. 
"Care to try it yourself?" Nick asked as he gulped down the rest 
of his protein shake. 
"Just think of how good it is for you", Natalie told him without any sympathy. 
Then she headed to the couch with her bowl of popcorn. 
"Are you coming?" she asked glancing at him over her shoulder. 
"Oh well, at least it was my turn to choose the video", Nick consoled 
himself as he followed Natalie. 
Then he scoulded himself a little. This was Nat's last night at his place, 
for now, and he really didn't want to spoile it by complaining about her 
protein shakes. 
"Just keep in mind that she's doing it all to help you in *your* quest", 
he reminded himself silently. 

Determined to make this a fun night he popped the video in and went to 
sit next to Natalie. In no time at all, his arm had slid around her and 
she was resting her head againt his shoulder. While Natalie seemed to be 
concentraiting on the film he was much more interested in her. He inhaled 
her scent and listened to her heartbeat.... It hadn't really been a great 
night until now but this was exactly how he preferred to end it, this 
night and all the rest of his nights, with Natalie. Well, maybe not 
*exactly* like this, he mused,  but what they had was a toleretable 
substitute - for now.

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

LaCroix slid his fingers down Antonia's spine. She rested her head on 
his chest and her right leg was draped over him. She was sleeping 
peacefully. LaCroix listened her breathing and the familiar rhythm of 
her heartbeat. 

She had been exhausted when they got home so, they had skipped the dinner 
and the ballet. At first, she hadn't wanted to talk about what had just 
happened. She was like that, LaCroix thought smiling slightly. She always 
needed to take her own time to think things over and to come to her own 
conclusions before she would discuss them with anyone else. Then, and only 
then, she would talk about it and listen to what he or anyone else had to 
say about the matter. Just like tonight. When she was ready, she had told 
him what it had been like. She had been amazed how similar it had been to 
what he had told her about drinking blood. 

Yes, the two things were similar but there were also huge differences. 
Drinking of blood could be a very sensual and pleasurable act where as 
one could hardly describe the Quickening as such. Also, vampires gained 
strenght from the blood but the Quickening left the Immortal feeble and 
exhausted, at first. Of course, both vampires and Immortals felt the 
memories and feelings of their -- prey, but only the Immortals got their 
strenght and their skill along with everything else.

Her blood had tasted slightly different tonight and LaCroix wondered if 
that would be the case every time she received the Quickening. It hadn't 
changed the very essence of her blood but there was a new tinge on the 
edge of it. 


He concetrated on his link with Nicholas and he could feel his son's 
contentment. No angst this time, he mused to himself. Then he searched 
for a while longer and finally he could feel it. Janette. His beautiful 
daughter. She may have left them, for a while, but she was still one of 
them and right then he felt nothing but tranquility from her. 

His musings were interrupted as Antonia moved slightly in her sleep. He 
felt her warm breath on his skin and slid his hand along her side, 
letting it finally stop on her hip. 

Yes, everything was well with his family and at that moment LaCroix felt 
truly content. 

The End

-- 
Claude
*NatPacker**N&NPacker**HB**shades of NA*