Date: Tue, 11 Jun 1996 18:47:16 -0400 From: Charlyne Linda Walker Disclaimers: The characters in this work are not my own, they belong to JP & TPTB. I borrowed them to play with for a while, but I will give them back when I am finished. This work is a sequel to "Choices of the Heart." You will probably want to read "Choices" before you read this since it picks up directly after the end of "Choices." If you need a copy of "Choices of the Heart" feel free to e-mail me at Charlyne@fiu.edu. Revelations by Charlyne L. Walker Javier Vachon watched the shadows cast by fire and thought back over his nearly 500 years on this planet. He had been with a great number of women in those years. Some he had brought across into the night and others he used and then ruthlessly killed for the blood he needed to survive. His gaze drifted to the woman asleep in his arms. How had this become so complicated? It was so easy in the past to take what he wanted and get out. How could this one woman could so easily disrupt his life and make him reconsider the choices made so long ago when he fled from the Inca and his destiny. He knew what his long time friend Screed would have said if he could read Javier thoughts at the moment, "You got rot between the plug oles V-man." It couldn't work, a relationship between a mortal, a too-pure-for-her-own-good mortal at that, and a vampire. Tracy was a child of the light seeing everything in light or dark. Vachon was a child of the shadows, everything was shades of grey that were always changing. Although, he mused you can't have shadows without a light.' I'm not like Nicholas, wanting to turn back the clock and be mortal again. I *like* being what I am.' Javier thought back over the conversation that he and Tracy had last night... "What is it like to be a vampire?" The question hung in the air for a few minutes. Vachon didn't move a muscle except for the characteristic blinking of his eyes that signaled to Tracy that she asked him something that he didn't want to or could not answer. Vachon pondered the questions in his mind, how do you explain what you are. It is like asking a butterfly what it is like to be a butterfly, they just are and they don't know any other way of existing. Just like the butterfly's time as a caterpillar, the mortal life was a dim memory to him. The memories where there, but after so long a time they did not fit into the current picture. "I don't know what it is *like* to be a vampire, it just is... There is an element of power. It is a heady feeling to know that you are stronger and faster then most of the population, but you also know that there are those that are stronger and faster than you. If you are smart you don't dwell on mortal constrains of right and wrong like N... a very few of my kind do. Your heart must be cold because you cannot survive if you do not put yourself first in all things. Your need to feed and stay alive must come before the thoughts of those that you take from their families to satisfy your needs. At our core we are a killer." he replied after a time. Tracy pondered Javier words for a time. "What is it like to live so long? Don't you ever get tired of those around you dying?" "It can be very tiring to watch those around you wither and then die. Most of us do not befriend mortals. Actually, most of us do not befriend anyone. It is in the nature of a vampire to keep to themselves and not get too close to someone else. If there are no ties to bind us we are free to move on as we please." "Don't you get tired of moving on all the time?" "You have to move on or eventually people will begin to notice that you are not aging. Moving around a great deal also keeps you from seeing those that you love grow old and die. It is hard to see someone who was once vibrant and alive a pale shadow of themselves." "If I don't decide to come across, will you eventually move on without me?" Tracy asked with a small voice. "Trace, I don't think that I could watch you wither and die. I know that you shouldn't mean anything to me, but I find that my heart cannot be cold when it is around you. Your warmth penetrated to my very soul." As Javier thought about his words to Tracy, he realized that he meant them. It seemed so strange to care so much for someone after all of these centuries of running from responsibility and commitments that would force responsibility onto unwilling shoulders. What do I do with you Tracy Vetter' he thought to himself as a new evening began. Tracy and Javier spent the remainder of the weekend talking and getting to know each other. It was a peaceful time for both of them, no work demands or crises erupting around every corner. It was very hard packing up to return to the real world. As Tracy gathered her belongings, Javier casually made the suggestion "why don't you leave the non-perishable food for your next visit" My next visit...He is already thinking of next time' was all Tracy could think of as she carefully replied "Sure." ************************************************************ Tracy came into the precinct house with a spring in her step and a smile even bigger than normal. Natalie, who was standing next to Nick's desk, remarked with laughter in her voice "looks like you had a nice weekend! What put such a smile on your face, and where can I get some?" Tracy replied, "it was a nice weekend. I got out of town for the whole weekend. Actually, a friend and I spent the entire weekend camping out at his cabin in the woods." "You both look well rested, how was your weekend." Nick replied, before Natalie could get a word in, "you know how it is, kicking back in front of the TV with a bowl of popcorn and a good friend." "Well, on that note, good friend,' I will leave you to your partner and get back to work. See you later Tracy." "Later Natalie." Tracy replied as she got up to fill her coffee cup. Nick stared at Tracy as she moved to the coffee maker wondering to himself about her friend. He wanted to find out if Vachon was the one she spent the weekend with, but he didn't know how to ask without revealing how much he knew about who and what Vachon really is. "Night!, Vetter!" Reece called from his office door. Nick and Tracy joined the captain in his office to find out what their captain wanted. "Welcome back from your mini-vacation. I trust that you are ready to get down to work?" "Sure Cap, what's up?" Tracy replied for them both. "There was a body left in the park yesterday. The initial report suggests that the victim was killed elsewhere and left in the park shortly before sunrise. The really strange part is that there was quite a bit of blood missing from the body, however, there was no blood found on the scene. I want the two of you to look into this for me and see if you can find out any more information from the victims next of kin and friends. I just have a funny feeling about this one. Also, I want you to check into the unsolved cases list and see if there is anything that might fit this description. Let me know what you find." "Sure Cap, were on it." Nick said as they rose and he took the folder that Reece held out to them. "Why don't we hit the next ofs and the friends first and then we can look through the list later." Nick suggested as they headed out toward his caddy. "OK, I don't mind running the unsolved when we get back, if you want to take care of the interview paperwork." Tracy replied casually. Uh oh, here she goes trying to protect me again. Once of these days I am going to be in trouble when she finds out my little secret.' Nick thought to himself as he started the engine on the car. Nick wracked his brain trying to think of a way to initiate a conversation about *who* Tracy had spend the weekend with. He still was not sure that he wanted to know, but he felt that it was his duty to protect Tracy. "So, you had a nice weekend this weekend..." "What, oh sorry Nick, my mind was elsewhere for a minute." Thinking about this weekend' she added silently. "Yeah, we had a great time." "Where did you say the cabin was again?" "I didn't, but it is about a half an hour flight from here. It is a little remote, but I needed a nice quite place to get away from it all." "So, you got to go exploring, hiking and stuff huh?" "No, my friend has a real sensitive complexion so we mostly stayed around and talked. You know, just rested and gloried in the fact that there was no life or death crisis to be taken care of." "Well, I'm glad you had a nice time." The conversation was effectively cut short as they reached the first destination. Tracy and Nick spend the next few hours interviewing the relatives and friends of the deceased and then returned to the station. As the car pulled into the parking lot, their radio crackled to life "81 Kilo, 81 Kilo" "81 Kilo here" Tracy said into the mic of their police band. "A body with a matching MO to your current case has been found in St. George park. "Copy that dispatch, we're on it." she replied as Nick pulled back out into the traffic to make their way to the park. continued in part 2 Revelations part 2 of 2 Charlyne L. Walker When they pulled up to the scene there was a small crowed gathered behind the standard police line. Natalie was already examining the body as they walked up. She got up and turned to talk to them as they stopped next to her. "Well, you got another one alright. Same MO, looks like this one was killed elsewhere, drained and then moved here. TOD would be within the last two hours or so. No signs of a struggle, no bruising or wounds aside from a rather deep cut on the side of the neck. That is probably where the blood was extracted. I will know more when I get the body back to the lab." "Sounds like our perp alright." Nick said to no one in particular as Natalie finished her report." "I'll find the officer of record and see what I can find out about how the body was found and if there were any witnesses if you finish the prelim Nick." Tracy said as she moved off to find the reporting officer. "Well..." "Well what, Nat?" Nick said as he watched Tracy began to gather the prelim scene report. "Was Vachon the friend that Tracy spent the weekend with?" "Yeah, it looks that way" "Don't you think it is time that you told her your little secret." Natalie said as she gently poked Nick in the ribs. "*Before* she finds out for herself?" "I guess so, but how do you tell your partner something like this?" "I don't know, but if I were you I would find a way before she figures it out on her own. I don't think this thing with Vachon is going to go away anytime soon." Natalie replied as she picked up her case. "I will get the results back to you as soon as I get this one finished." she said in a louder voice as Tracy joined them again. "I will see you guys back at the station." and with that Natalie got in her car to return to the lab. "Nick, I have the statement from the officer first on the scene, no witnesses, it was called in by a jogger just over 45 minutes ago." "Sounds like we have gotten all we can here. Why don't we head back and see what we can find in the unsolved list?" "Sounds fine to me." As they got into the car Nick made another suggestion, "Tracy, why don't we take our break on the way back to the station. I know a quite little place that I'm told has good food." "Is there something wrong?" "No, there is just something I need to talk with you about and I don't want to do it in the station house." he added to himself, I also want to confess in a public place so you can't stake me when you find out what I have been hiding from you.' When they arrived at the restaurant, Nick asked the waitress for a booth in the far back, away from the few night owls who were still in the diner. After Tracy placed her order and the waitress left, Nick tried to think of a good opening line. Tracy gave Nick a funny look and asked "what's up?" In the back of her mind she had a feeling that he was going to grill her about who she spent the weekend with. "I, uh, Tracy, I...I have something I want to tell you. I've been meaning to tell you for a long time, but I just...the time just never seemed right. First of all, I want to tell you that I think you are a great partner, and, ah...I ..." "Nick, is this about your being a vampire?" "What! You knew? How...I mean when...I mean..." Nick sputtered as he tried to absorb the face that his partner had figured out his secret. "Actually, I have suspected for awhile. I mean, once you know about the existence of vam...your race it is pretty hard not to suspect something when the person you spend 40 or more hours a week with is allergic to the sun, doesn't eat anything, avoids garlic and is very pale. I am a detective after all..." "Why didn't you say anything? You made me think that you didn't know. Does Vachon know that you know?" "Well, to begin with, you seemed pretty intent on not letting me in on your little secret, so I figured you would tell me in your own time. I was also not 100% convinced that you were..." Tracy leaned over and whispered, "a vampire." Sitting back up, she resumed her normal tone of voice "You acted like such a cynic, and I didn't want to seem like a world class idiot in your eyes if I was wrong. If you really had a sun allergy all your life I figured that you had probably gotten your fair share of teasing and not so teasing comments about being a vampire and I just didn't want to hurt your feelings." Tracy broke off as the waitress returned to the table with the drink order. Nick sat quietly and watched his partner as she took her straw out of the wrapper and put it in her drink. I have really underestimated her both as a detective and as a person. She has a pretty good instincts and a good heart.' he thought to himself. They sat in silence as they waited for the Tracy's order to be delivered. The waitress placed the order on the table, and as she turned to Nick to make sure that he did not want anything, he caught her eye and gave her the suggestion that she did not need to come back until they signaled her they were ready to leave. "It still amazed me when you guys do that..." Tracy said as the woman walked way. "Do you mind if I ask a few questions? If you don't want me to ask I won't." "I won't promise to answer, but you can ask anything you want." Nick spent the next half hour answering the questions that Tracy asked. All things considered, she took the fact that her partner is an almost 800 year old knight of the Crusades pretty well. As Tracy finished her dinner and they were getting ready to leave, Nick brought up the topic of Vachon and the long weekend. "Tracy, do you mind if I ask you a rather personal question?" "Alright. It only seems fair..." "I know that you have been seeing Javier Vachon, and I think we need to talk. I don't know how much Vachon has told you about being involved with a vampire, but there are some things that you need to know. I don't want to sound like your father, but I really don't think that you should see him. You will only be hurt. Trust me, you don't want to be involved with the darkness, it will only bring you pain." "Vachon has explained about the...risks... of being involved with a vampire, and I am willing to take them." "If you need me, let me know." "I will Nick, and I appreciate your concern and I will keep that in mind." Tracy was very quiet on the ride back to the station house. She has a great deal on her mind. Between the new relationship with her partner, the vampire like murders and the growing relationship with Vachon it was going to be a busy week. ************************************************************ Thanks for taking the time to read this...As always, flames, virtual chocolate and virtual ribena can be sent to Charlyne@fiu.edu. I would love to hear your comments... Would you like to see more?