========================================================= From Dydreamr99@aol.com Date Mon, 1 Jun 1998 195127 EDT To FKarchiver@fkfanfic.com Disclaimers: To be truthful I must say that none of this stuff belongs to me. Nick and Natalie are borrowed from those wonderful creators of Forever Knight and the songs are from GooGoo Dolls ("Iris"), Fred Astaire ("Singing in The Rain"), and U2 ("If God Will Send His Angels"). All of them great songs by the way. And my gratitude goes out to them for sparking some inspiration in me. :) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------- Rainy Day Miracles *It's raining.* Nick Knight noted as he opened the blinds with a remote from his seat in the chair. The nitetime sky was darkened even more with clouds, but Nick didn't need to see them to know what the weather was like. He could hear the raindrops falling to the ground, even with the windows tightly shut. But the drops hitting the ground were not the only thing that his extraordinary ears picked up. There was another sound. *Someone singing...* Nick thought to himself as he ran a hand through unruly blonde hair. He got up from the chair and crossed the room with an easy, laidback gracefulness, to the window. Sure enough there was a person outside singing: "And I don't want the world to see me 'Cause I don't think that they'd understand When everything's meant to be broken I just want you to know who I am..." The man at his window chuckled at the sight of a very wet young girl singing and dancing in the rain with such energy. The girl's black hair moved as one when she twirled around in circles, giggling and laughing at herself. Back inside, Nick lifted up the latch and opened the window. "Nice song!" he called down to her, "You always act like Fred Astaire?" he asked, chuckling. The girl grinned a mischevious sort of grin and started to pretend to tap dance, all while singing. "I'm singing in the rain Just singing in the rain What a glorious feeling I'm happy again..." Nick laughed as the girl serenaded him with this song. "Thanks for the song-and-dance number 'Fred' but don't you think you should be heading home now?" He leaned a bit outside and looked down at the aspiring singer with bright blue eyes that have seen much more than most would think, over 800 years worth. The girl, looking up in return, shielded her eyes from the rain with a petite, tan hand. "I can't go home yet." she said in a voice equally as sweet as her singing voice. She watched as Nick looked down at her with a concerned expression on his face. "Why not?" he asked, his voice filled with genuine concern for the girl. All his years as a police detective has made a soft spot for children. But that soft spot was there even before becoming a cop. It has been there for centuries. ----- flashback ----- Nicholas Chevalier, as he was known back then, often took long walks along the dark streets of 19th century London. And this nite was no exception as he started down the lamp-lit street. Nicholas wandered aimlessly, lost in thought, when he heard a cry. "No please sir, let me go!" a young boy, sounding of about 12, cried out in an alleyway nearby Nicholas. With a speed too fast for any mortal to see, Nicholas moved into that alleyway and found the little boy in rags holding a piece of bread tightly in one hand. He was fighting off an older man, also in rags, with the other. "Give me that!" the man growled as he grabbed the boy's collar and shook him violently. "Let the boy have the bread. He needs it more than you." Nicholas said calmly, behind the old man. The man clumsily let go of the boy and swung around, meaning to hit Nicholas. But the passerby caught the man's hand quickly and squeezed it, sending the old man on his knees in pain. "Now are you going to let him alone?" he asked the man, who nodded vigourously in pain. The boy was balled up in a corner, watching with wide eyes. Nicholas let the hand go and the man got up, running away. Nicholas then turned to the wide-eyed boy and smiled kindly. "I'm Nicholas. What's your name?" he asked and knelt beside the child. The boy looked up cautiously at him. "M' name is Thomas sir." the young one replied quietly, still crouched down and holding on to the bread for dear life. "Well Thomas," Nicholas smiled again, "How about we get you something to go with that bread?" A smile found Thomas' dirt-smudged face and he nodded. ---- end flashback ---- "Hey mister, you alright?" the young girl asked, watching Nick as he drifted off into memories with a wistful look. The blue-eyed vampire looked back at her blindly for a moment, seeing right through her, then was brought back to the present by her voice. "Huh?" he shook his head a bit and then smiled impishly. "Oh yeah I'm fine. Now why can't you go home?" "Because I don't want to." she said simply and shrugged. "Least not yet." she added with a grin. Nick smiled back. *She's an interesting girl...* he thought as he looked at her *She looks so familiar too..strange.* He shook his head at the thought then called down to the girl; "Well, would you at least like to come up here? To get out of the rain a bit?" She quirked her head to one side and looked up at him thoughtfully. *Obviously debating with herself as to whether or not she should come up to a strange man's home at nite. * Nick mused. He wasn't even quite sure why he had invited this girl up, just that she had a magnetic pull about her. *And I'm caught.* he thought with a rueful smile, *Ahh well...it'll do me some good to have some company.* Nick decided, he always did like mortal company. The only company outside the precinct, and outside the vampiric family, was Dr. Natalie Lambert, the M.E. He smiled as his thoughts drifted towards the doctor, but quickly came back to reality when he saw the girl smile and nod. "Sure." She said then was off like a shot, half skipping half splashing through the puddles into the building. Nick watched her go off and then suddenly remembered. "Wait...!" Nick yelled out then trailed off, "You have to buzz in..." he finished. No sooner had he said that did he hear a buzzer ring. "That was fast." he said to himself and walked over to the intercom. "Who is it?" "It's me." the girl's sweet voice came over the speaker, "ya wanta lower your drawbridge kind Knight?" she asked and Nick could practically see the smile on her face as he buzzed her up. He then started to laugh at the girl's unknowing pun on his name and watched as the elevator came up. When the doors opened Nick made a sweeping bow he had once reserved for princesses and said warmly, "Welcome to my castle m'lady." This riled giggles out of the girl as she stepped out and looked around with not cautious eyes, as one might expect, but rather curious eyes that were taking in their surroundings. Her eyes were dark grey, like the stormclouds, and twinkled brightly, Nick had observed as he watched her take in everything about his loft. And there was a lot to take in. To the side was a grand piano and a television and couch in the living towards the front. All around the pair were things that Nick had collected over the years, each with as full and rich a history as Nick's own past. The girl slowly walked further in, as if she was afraid to break something. Neither said a word as she soaked up all the images around her. The girl then turned around and faced Nick, who took his fill of observing. She was around 17 and normal height, about 5 foot 6. Her eyes, as he noted before, were a deep, dark grey that twinkled. *With happiness...* Nick mused to himself, wondering if his eyes will ever shine like that. Her wet hair was as black as a raven's wing and hung straight down, right to the middle of her back. Her clothes, which were as wet if not even more so than her hair, were normal teenage clothes, a grey Calvin Klein t-shirt and a pair of bluejeans. Nick broke the silence first. Not because he was uncomfortable, in fact for some strange reason he felt quite at ease around the girl, but he felt the need to explain himself. "I'm not going to hurt you..." he started to say, "I just thought that you might want..." "To get out of the rain?" the girl finished his sentence for him. "And 'cause you wanted company." she added with a smile, stating it more as an observation than a question. *How...?* Nick thought in a bit of awe. *How did she know that?* He watched her quietly a moment and she returned his gaze with a curious look, still smiling. "My name is Sage. What's yours?" she asked. "Nick Knight." he said with a grin and bowed again, "Pleased to meet you Sage." She giggled. "You really are a Knight! How about that? Nice to meet you too Nicholas." she smiled warmly. *My full name...weird being called that by anyone other than LaCroix...* Nick thought. He smiled though, actually liking it, and asked, "Would you like to sit down?" Sage had been gazing around again and then settled on Nick as he spoke. His deep blue eyes held hers as he waited for an answer. *Such pretty eyes...* Sage was thinking to herself, *But they are so old...so sad.* Suddenly Nick broke off the gaze and started to walk to the couch. Sage followed amiably, not thinking anything of the sudden break-off. But Nick could not shake off her look. *It's like she was trying to read my soul.* he said to himself quietly as he sat down. *And the scary thing is I think she could do it too.* But Nick didn't want her looking into his soul, he was afraid of what she might find. Sensing that her host was uncomfortable, Sage changed the whole atmosphere by just a smile. Immediately, Nick smiled back and forgot his earlier discomfort. The two talked as if they were old friends catching up with one another. "So what do you do Nicholas?" Sage asked as she got up to roam around a bit. She wandered into the kitchen and got herself some water. "Want something?" she called. Nick chuckled, wondering what this curious soul would do if she found out that he stored cow's blood in the refridgerator and little else. He then became serious and wondered what excuse he would make if she did happen to open the fridge. "No thanks." he replied and watched around the corner, to make sure that she didn't see anything she wasn't supposed to. "And I'm a homicide detective." "Ooo...sounds dangerous! and thrilling!" Sage exclaimed as she came back and sat down. She took a sip of her drink just as the phone started to ring. Nick's answering machine picked it up on the first ring. "Hi I'm either asleep or incommunicado so leave a message after the beep." The recording said. Just after the beep a lady's voice was heard. "Hey Nick. It's your friendly neighborhood doctor calling to check up on her patient..." she said cheerfully. Nick immediately picked up the phone before Sage could hear any more. "Hey Nat." he smiled. "Yeahyeah I'm keeping up with the routine." he laughed at a comment Natalie made. "Okok. Uh-huh, bye." Nick smiled again and hung up the phone. "That was Natalie?" Sage asked as if she has known the doctor personally for years. She smiled and watched Nick curiously, noting the gleam in his eyes. "Yeah. It was Nat checking up on me." Nick answered with a boyish grin. "She's helping me with...my allergies." He hesitated as he told the girl that, wondering why it's so hard to tell her what he told everyone else with the greatest of ease. *It's like I can't lie to her...or don't want to.* he thought to himself. "Oh...cool." Sage smiled. "She is the medical examiner yes? And what are you allergic to?" she asked curiously. "Yes she is. How do you know?" Nick returned with a curiousness of his own. "I've been there." she shrugged. "Saw her name. What are you allergic to?" Sage asked again, with a stubborn look that told Nick he cannot get out of answering her question. Nick sensed that and also sensed that he cannot beat around the bush with his guest. So he gave up and replied, "Sunlight." Sage nodded and watched him quietly. Nick guessed that she was taking in all the information he has told her and also surmised that there would be more questions. Nick was a bit concerned about this because he wasn't sure where the questioning would lead. Sage gathered all the information and all that she had seen in this little while about Nick and smiled. *I think he loves her...Lets see huh?* She chuckled to herself and saw Nick watching her, with a confused sort of expression on his face. *He's trying to figure me out...just as I am with him.* she observed and then asked aloud her question, to confirm or deny what she thought. "You love her don't you?" Nick was taken by surprise by the question. He look dumbfounded at the girl and answered truthfully. "Yes I do. How...?" Sage merely returned his stares as Nick thought to himself, *How did you know that? And if you know that what else do you know about me?* He sat in a state of disbelief of what the young one just simply knew, something that took him a long while to admit to himself. Something that he hasn't even admitted to Natalie yet. Sage laughed softly at Nick's facial expression. "Your eyes Nicholas." she said simply and smiled. "They gave it away." And Sage was right. His eyes had the light of love in them. It was a simple, soft light, a glow. It always is and often took special people to notice it, special people like Sage. *Your love for her is partly why I'm here...* Sage thought to herself, *And her love for you is the other part.* She knew that this love was not unrequited, and knew that if one of them just opened their mouths then they could be very happy together. "But I also know..." Sage whispered, not meaning to voice it aloud and instantly wished she could take it back when Nick's ears perked up. "Know what?" he asked and looked away. He gazed out the window at the still falling rain. Sage followed his eyes and stared at the rain too, wishing for a way out of his question. "I know that you are afraid of love..." she said quietly and glanced toward him. But Nick would not return the gaze. "I know that you are afraid of hurting Natalie." At that remark Nick turned to Sage abruptly. "What makes you think I would hurt her?" he asked briskly, a hint of pain in his voice, because of her statement but also because that is exactly what he was afraid of. He was also afraid of the wise eyes that were watching him right now, and piecing his thoughts and emotions together as if it were a puzzle. "I do not think that." Sage said in a calm voice, "You do." She bit her lip and focused her vision back to the rain outside. Nick sighed and nodded slowly. "I do..." he said softly, "But I have my reasons for thinking that I will." he stated flatly, this being an old arguement that he knew well. Because he told it to himself every time he wanted to be near Natalie and to tell her that he loved her. Sage turned to him and caught his gaze. She then flashed him a smile that says " I've-got-a-secret" and chuckled. *Now's a good a time as any to drop this on him.* she thought then said aloud, "Why? Because you are a vampire and she is not?" Nick's eyes widened at the little girl who held his attention. "I'm a what?" he tried to play it off, unsuccessfully. "You are a vampire." she smiled again and shrugged. "I saw the blood in the fridge, Nicholas. And you told me yourself you were allergic to light. So I put two and two together and got four!" Sage grinned at him innocently. *You didn't open the refridgerator...I saw you. I was watching you.* Nick shook his head in disbelief then looked at Sage and held her gaze. "You saw a bottle of wine..." Nick said calmly, in a soft and hypnotic voice, waiting for that familiar blank look in her eyes, the look that said they were under his influence. But the pair of grey eyes that were looking at him only twinkled with happiness and a hint of challenge. Nick saw that and knew right then that she would be a Resister. He sighed again and ran a hand thorugh his hair, then quirked his head a moment. *I didn't hear her heartbeat.* he thought then shrugged it off, too worried about what she already knew to really think about it. "I saw bottles alright." Sage nodded, not even affected in the least by Nick's hypnotic suggestion. Nick watched her in wonder, never having met such a girl. "But that's not the point." She shook her head. "You love Natalie so why don't you get over your fears and be with her?" "It's not that simple." Nick smiled sadly and sat back. *She knows most everything else probably. Might as well tell her...* Nick thought then smiled, catching irony in his situation. *I always said I didn't like psychiatrists...so it makes sense that my shrink wouldn't be a true one. But just a girl off the street... literally.* He chuckled to himself and shook his head. "You see it's like this..." the man proceeded to tell his listener about his first wife and what happened with her. Sage listened quietly til Nick was through with his memory. "And you are afraid that the same will happen with Natalie." she stated, understanding why Nick is so afraid. He nodded and looked down at his hands. "But mortals have to deal with that too." she said and smiled sympathetically. "It's a part of Life...coming and going. But the memories live on forever. As long as you keep them. But you miss them alot... and a person can only take so much of missing their loved ones. And you do take more of it than normal..." Sage shrugged and trailed off, sensing that she was babbling. "Just tell her that you love her. Can't kill you can it? Nor will it kill her." Sage suggested with a soft chuckle. Nick nodded to show that he understood what she was suggesting but wasn't sure if he would do it. After that, they both said nothing for what seemed a long while and then, Nick looked up from his hands right at Sage. The girl went over to him and gave him a hug. At first Nick was surprised and then he returned the hug, grateful for her understanding of him, and for her knowledge of him to begin with. "Thanks..." he started, "It's been a while since I could talk with someone so openly." Nick smiled as Sage slowly pulled away and looked at him. "That's what I'm here for. It's my job dear Nicholas." she said with a sweet smile. "You need someone you can talk with about anything and everything, someone to lend a sympathetic ear." Nick nodded. "I'm just glad to be of service!" Sage laughed. *That's exactly what I need.* he nodded and said to himself. Just then Sage looked at the clock, and Nick's eyes followed. It read 1030 pm. "I should get going now..." she sighed softly. "Thank you for giving me shelter for a while." Sage gave Nick another hug, not wanting to leave. But she had to. *Still have the other half to work on.* she thought with a sly grin. "Hard to believe I've been bugging you for like an hour huh Nicholas?" she said with another grin. "Bugging me? Never." he smiled and hugged her back. "You're welcome here anytime Sage." She smiled and nodded her thanks. Then, humming a song, she started out the door into the elevator. It took her down to the ground and she walked out into the rain again. She looked up at the still open window where Nick was leaning on the sill and watching her go and called, "Right when my clothes and hair were dried too!" Nick laughed and shook his head. She grinned and waved, then started off walking in the rain singing: "If God will send His angels Sure could use them here right now And if God will send His angels And I don't have to know how And I don't need to know why..." --------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------ Doctor Natalie Lambert was finishing up her nitetime work routine when her thoughts drifted to Nick Knight. She wodered what he was doing right now, on his nite off while she was stuck in the morgue dissecting bodies. She sighed and smiled, remembering when Nick first came to her, right there in the very morgue she was in right then. A bomb explosion had brought him to her. *And it'd take a bomb explosion to get him to love me back.* she thought with a laugh, *To not be so afraid of love.* she added to herself. Nat went to the sink and took off her gloves, then scrubbed down her hands and arms. A faint voice could be heard as she was washing up. It was someone singing. "And I don't want the world to see me 'Cause I don't think that they'd understand When everything's meant to be broken I just want you to know who I am..." Nat furrowed her brow and called out, "Hello?" She went back into her office, only to be startled by a young lady who was sitting on an empty stretcher and swinging her legs back and forth. The girl was also the one singing. Nat watched her a moment and thought to herself, *She looks familiar...* The girl looked back at her with dark grey eyes and smiled. "Hello. My name is Sage. What's yours?" Sage asked, knowing full well who the woman in front of her was. "Sage, you're not supposed to be in here." Nat shook her head. She wondered what a girl would be doing in a morgue anyway. *Not exactly my place of choice on a Friday nite.* she thought with a smile. "I'm not?" the girl tilted her head to one side. "But this is a public place no?" she looked at Nat curiously and smiled an innocent smile. "Well it is...but this is not the place you want to be. Believe me." Nat laughed. "I'd know. This is definately not where I want to be." Sage smiled that "I've-got-a-secret" smile. "That's perfectly understandable Dr. Lambert." she nodded and called Natalie by her last name due to etiquette that her mother had taught her as a child. "Please, my name is Natalie Lambert. You can call me Nat if you like." Natalie smiled. "And why exactly is that perfectly understandable?" she asked curiously. "Well, only stiffs want ta hang out with other stiffs." Sage said with a grin. "And you're not a stiff Natalie. You want to be elsewhere." Natalie smiled and nodded, thinking about going to visit Nick after work. Sage smiled mischeviously and thought to herself *Hey. I surprised Nicholas, lets surprise her too.* Sage swung her legs again and said with a sly grin, "I know where you want to be." Nat knit her brows and looked at Sage confusedly. "You do? How is that?" she questioned the girl, curious as to how she knew, if she knew, anything about her. "You want to be in the arms of a loved one." Sage said knowingly and watched Nat's reaction. It was one mixed with surprise and a sort of suspicion. *As to how I know what she wants.* Sage smiled. "But...this loved one is afraid of loving you back. He does love you though." she reassured the doctor, not yet coming out with the fact that she knew who the loved one was. "Does he?" Natalie asked with a raised brow. "And how do you know this for a fact?" She waited for Sage's answer to that question. "He does." Sage nodded, "And I know because I asked him whether he did or no." she shrugged. "Nicholas said he does." she said simply, adding it almost as an afterthought. Natalie's expression went from incredulous to shocked as the girl mentioned Nick's name. Sage watched her quietly, knowing that it was a shock to her and letting the woman take it all in. "How do you know Nick?" Natalie sat down at her desk and looked at the girl who was swinging her legs like a little child and humming to herself, all while gazing at Nat with those familiar-looking eyes. Sage smiled and laughed softly. "I've known him a while." the girl explained. *At least...I've been watching over him.* she corrected to herself. Sage has been watching Nick and Natalie for a while. But she waited til just this nite to make herself known to them. And while she was not lying when she said that she has known Nick a while, *I'm not exactly telling the whole story either.* she thought with a chuckle. "And I was at his house earlier this evening." Sage looked at Nat and explained. "This is when I asked him whether he loved you or no." *He loves me...he does love me.* Natalie sat there thinking. She wanted to laugh and cry at the same time. She was so happy to know this for a fact. But something lingered in her mind, a doubt that kept poking and trying to burst her bubble of happiness. "Do you know why he is afraid of love?" she asked a bit quietly, in her heart knowing the answer. It was because he has seen too many of his mortal friends come and go but he is forever there, eternal. *He doesn't want to become too attached...* Natalie bit her lip and thought as Sage stared at her and studied her. "He doesn't want to be so attached to someone...you in this case... and have to let them go eventually." Sage replied. She didn't reveal that she knew why he was so afraid of it though. *That would be too weird for her.* Sage said to herself with a mental chuckle. "But what he doesn't seem to realize is that it's natural. Everyone, mortal or immortal, goes through losing loved ones. Children lose parents, wives lose husbands, and parents lose children all the time..." Sage trailed off, knowing firsthand about loss. She had lost her parents not too long ago. She sighed. *Can't dwell on that...I'll go visit them later.* she thought with comfort, *after I finish with these two.* She laughed softly. "I take that back actually. I suppose he realizes that all too well huh?" Nat gazed off into space while Sage basically talked to herself for a moment or two. Then Sage got Natalie's attention back. "What about yourself? Are you afraid?" If there was such a thing as dying of shock Natalie might have done it right there and then. *She knows that Nick's a vampire. Did he tell her?* she wondered. *Is she one herself? Is that why she seems to know what I'm thinking? And why she knows so much about him?* All these questions ran through Natalie's mind at top speed. But she was shaken out of them when Sage had asked the questions floating in her mind. Nat sat there and thought about it. "I suppose I am...a bit." she answered after some thinking. "But everyone is afraid of love to some degree. Scared of the unknown." Natalie sighed and looked at Sage, who smiled. "True." The young girl nodded. "But why? Nine times out of ten it's not half as bad as what we imagine." Sage quirked her head to the side, not knowing or understanding the mystery of humans' fears. "You aren't afraid of something Sage?" Natalie raised a brow. *Those words are easy to say...but does she believe in them?* she thought to herself. But for some strange reason Nat actually got the feeling that Sage is not scared of anything. *Including love.* she chuckled. "I was." Sage nodded. "Everyone is at some time or another. But I got over it. And the thing that I was afraid of is actually pretty cool." she smiled. "But it wasn't love. I knew that love was something wonderful. But I never got to experience it for myself." she added, with a sad smile. "Well you're young." Natalie smiled kindly. "You will soon enough." Sage smiled back with another sad smile. The two fell silent for a little while. The doctor watched the girl curiously, who was looking around the office quietly. *I do know her from somewhere...where though?* she sighed and shook her head. *Ahh well...I'll ask her if I know her later.* Her mind drifted back to Nick. "So what can I do...? To get him to admit it to me?" she asked aloud, more to herself than to Sage. But Sage came back with an answer to Nat's question. "Nicholas is coming here a little bit later. Just tell him. Tell him that you love him. And see what he does." Sage said with a secret smile, hoping that what she planned will work. *Hopefully, they'll swallow their fears...at least just for tonite.* she closed her eyes a moment and prayed. The two ladies talked for a while longer. Natalie, as Nick did, found Sage to be easy to talk about everything with. And she found the girl easy to be open and honest with. "I love him with all my heart...and even if he feels that we can't 'be together' i just want to hear that he loves me too." she explained to Sage, who nodded in agreement. Just then, Sage looked at the clock. It had read 1115 pm. "I have to go...thank you Natalie." Sage said with a smile. "For letting me hang around with you. It's been really fun." Nat smiled back warmly and gave her a hug. "No problem." she said. "Oh Sage? What's your last name?" Natalie wondered curiously. *I'll run it through the computer system and see if I knew her family.* she decided. Sage hopped off the stretcher and started for the door. "Nelson. Sage Nelson." she smiled again. "Nite Natalie." She walked through the doors and out into the rain. "Bye Sage." Natalie smiled and then flipped on her computer. She sat there and hummed the tune that she had heard Sage singing earlier and typed up Sage's name into the Toronto populus database. Still humming, she didn't notice Nick walking in. *It's Sage's song...* Nick recognized the tune right away. He came behind Natalie and kissed the top of her head. "Nice song. Where'd you learn it?" he asked curiously. Natalie turned around and smiled. "Oh from someone I know. A girl named Sage that I met today." she said with another smile. Nick's face lit up at the girl's name and he smiled back. "She's an interesting one isn't she?" he chuckled. Inside, Nick was fighting with his fears and debating as to whether to take Sage's advice or no. Natalie nodded and stood up. She stood in front of him and there was an awkward silence among the two for a moment. Nick then hugged her tightly and made his decision. "I love you Natalie." he whispered very softly into her ear. Natalie was then given a soft kiss on the lips. Tears sprung from her eyes and she laughed gently. "I love you too." she replied, just as softly. They stood there, in one another's arms for what seemed forever. Then it was Nick's turn to start laughing quietly. "What?" Nat asked and looked at him strangely. She looked up in his eyes and saw the same glow that Sage had seen. She knew that very same glow must have been in her eyes, and was happy about it. "The girl that you met today... Sage? I met her today too...and she knew all about me. Helped me to get over my fears..." he silently thanked her, where-ever she was. "She even knew what I was. Funny thing is Nat, that she just knew. She said that she saw the bottled blood in my fridge but I know she didn't... I know she didn't even open the fridge...and I couldn't lie to her. It was so hard...like lying to myself, or you." he smiled a confused, lopsided sort of smile. "And she simply knew that I loved you too. Just by watching me talk with you on the phone." He revealed with awe in his voice. Natalie knit her brows, wondering how the girl knew everything about both Nick and herself. She then remembered her search for Sage. "Maybe we can find her and ask her how she knows." Nat said with a smile and looked at the computer screen. She skimmed over it and found Sage's name. But what she found next to it was not what she expected. "Oh my God...that's impossible." came a soft murmer. "What?" Nick asked and looked over her shoulder. He read what Natalie was seeing aloud. " 'Sage Nelson; deceased. August of 1981 to April of 1998.' But that was last month..." he trailed off. "That's not right." declared Nick. "We were just talking with her...she was singing and dancing in the rain, right out my window." "That's why she looked familiar..." Natalie said softly. "She was brought in here..." The light of realization dawned on her. "It's true Nick...I remembered her from somewhere. Now I know where." she took his hand in hers. "Here..." "Then how was she here? Tonite? Unless she was a...ghost?" he asked incredulously. "Or an angel." Natalie suggested. *She is an angel...that's why she isn't afraid of anything.* Natalie thought remembering Sage's words about fear. * "I was...Everyone is at some time or another. But I got over it. And the thing that I was afraid of is actually pretty cool."* Then it hit her "She was afraid of death..." she said quietly. "But now she finds it to not be so bad...because she is an angel." Nick listened quietly to Natalie. He realized that what Nat was saying was true. That was why he couldn't lie to Sage and that was definately why he couldn't hypnotize her. *That's also why I didn't hear a heartbeat.* he thought in understanding. Nick felt very lucky to have met such a girl. "She was a Cupid." he told her with a smile. "The angel of love." With that he kissed Natalie softly and, still holding her hand, walked her out of the office to the outside. The rain had quieted somewhat and was now a soft sprinkling. Natalie looked up with him with a grin. "And you thought you were where angels fear to tread." she teased him. They both laughed and walked to Natalie's apartment, enjoying the rain along with each other's company and love. And, from what seemed to be coming from the grey clouds that reminded Nick and Natalie of a certain person's eyes, was a girl's sweet voice giggling and singing: "If God will send His angels Sure could use them here right now And if God will send His angels And I don't have to know how And I don't need to know why..." --------the end-------