Date: Tue, 10 Sep 1996 17:59:41 -0500 From: Robbi Egersdorf Hey guys: I got another one going. This time I'm gonna start sending it out before it's all written. This one has Schanke in it and happens sometime after Be My Valentine and Before Black Buddha (of course!). I have wanted to write Schanke for some time now, but haven't felt confident enough to do it. Well either my confidence is up or my sense is down. Read and let me know. As always these characters belong to Tristar and Sony. I am just borrowing them for a time. No copyright infringement is intended. Comments, virtual roses or chocolates and requests for missed parts to egersdor@magiclink.com The Power in the Blood Part 1 By Robbi Egersdorf c 1996 He loved the serenity of the wilderness. That was why he made it a point to take time at least once a year to visit this place, to commune with Nature. He needed time away from the constant beat of city life. He had taken up residence in a less populated part of town. Even so, the daily hub-bub of life constantly invaded his senses in an unnatural way. The heightened perception of hearing brought to him the triumph and despair of the people around him. At first, he had looked upon it as a way of experiencing their lives. As time had passed, the sound of life became a thing to be filtered out, ignored, or simply lived with. Yes, he had become accustomed to it after living around so many humans for so long. Even at that, there were times when it became too much and weighted a little too heavily on his mind and senses. It made him feel the desperate loneliness of his existence. Many of their experiences were not for him to ever have as his own. He had suffered and sought and worked for a cure for years, centuries even. Still he lay under the curse of his existence. Here in the quiet, so far from mortal existence, he could find some rest, some solace in the simple, gentle ways of nature. He sat high on a rock, looking down on the crystal blue of the water below. A gentle, fresh breeze blew, giving the illusion of the earth rocking under him. Tendrils of his hair blew unchecked about his face, giving the illusion of an untamed lion sitting there in the center of his kingdom. The surface of the water rippled and moved in intricate patterns that intertwined and separated in their rush to extinction. Below the surface, his sense of light and sound would be muted. On entering the water, he left one world behind, while becoming a part of another. It was easy to explore this underwater world with his small need for oxygen. The chill of the water did not give him pause as it covered the chill of his flesh. There was something about this place that made the more quiet calm places inside himself accessible. There he found a place to hide from the guilt and pain of who he was and all that he had done. As a creature of the night, his memories lay just below the surface, ready to be awakened by any slight association with everything he did, heard, and felt. One of the curses of this immortal life of his was the clarity of memory. The death and long parade of years with its experiences both pleasant and painful were too easily recalled, too easily triggered. There was no merciful forgetting, no blunting of the memory over time. Things that happened centuries ago, were as vivid as yesterday's events. He leaned back his head and attempted to find a pleasant memory while gazing up through the water at the stars. He thumbed through the memories of lives and loves past. Rising back out of the water, he reached the rock above where he had left his towel. Laying in his swimming trunks, he "sunned" himself by the light of the moon. His ivory skin seemed to glow in the reflected sunlight, sunlight that was diluted sufficiently so it was not a danger to his vampire constitution. He lay in the wilderness, far separated from the human population, yet they still dominated his consciousness. * * * 1888, Aboard a steamship, heading from London to America. He stood at the railing, gazing at the green water of the ocean and the light of the moon shining back from its surface. He had left his master and Janette behind in London. He was having more and more difficulty stomaching Lacroix's amoral attitude towards human life. Then there was his resentments of Nicholas' attempts to have any relationships or even dealing with mortals. "Mortals die. What does it matter when or how," Lacroix's words echoed through his mind. How many times had he heard those very words used by his master in an attempt to rationalize the killing. There would never be words to make the killing of an innocent acceptable to him. His thoughts were pulled back to the ship's deck with a hand on his shoulder . "Are you on your way to Boston?" came a rich resonant voice from behind him, that was unmistakably feminine. He turned to face the questioner and was greeted by the sight of a slight blond with her hair fastened up in the back. Stray locks were whipping about in the sea breeze. She was warmly clad in an ivy green traveling dress. The woman looked to be in her mid-twenties, yet her bearing carried the burden of maturity beyond her years. There was a hint of sadness behind the expressive smile that graced her full, sensual lips. The set of her jaw bespoke a strong resolve that comes through facing life's adversities. Her sheer beauty took his breath away and Nicholas was unable to reply to this woman's question for a moment. Self-consciously, she looked down at the deck. It was then that Nicholas realized he had been staring. "Excuse me my manners. I did not mean to stare." He smiled and a total change came over her countenance. She repeated the question, "Are you traveling to Boston, kind Sir?" "That is my destination." He tore his eyes from her visage and turned back to the ocean. "Have you been there before?" He turned to her, just as a toss of the waves and movement of the ship caused a loud creak to rip from the structure of the vessel. It startled the woman, frightening her into his arms. He encircled her automatically with a fear she would fall over the railing. He could hear her heart quicken. He laughed, "Whoa. There is nothing to be frightened of." Pushing herself from his embrace, she replied, "I just can't seem to get used to that sound." She gave a nervous laugh and folded her arms in front of her. She stepped back, further widening the distance between them. "Nicholas deBrabant at your service." He gave a slight bow. She relaxed some at the familiar use of manners. "Catherine Sedgewood." She held out her hand to him. He took the offered member and placed a soft, lingering kiss on the back of her pale hand. Slowly he pulled the scent of her warm, living blood into his lungs. Her special perfume was delicate and intoxicating to the vampire . Sensing he was toying too near the edge, he abruptly released her hand and backed away until he was up against the rail. Nick returned once again to the twentieth century. He could still taste her fragrance on his tongue after more than a century had passed. He shook his head in an effort to rid himself of the memory. He could do nothing for her now. He had passed up his chance so long ago. Now it was lost to him forever. end part 1 Robbi Knightie Long Live the Knight egersdor@magiclink.com The Power in the Blood Part 2a By Robbi Egersdorf c 1996 Nick stood up from the towel he had been stretched out on and began to dress . He caught the dancing beam of a flashlight out of the corner of his eye as he bent to pull on his jeans. Quickly he gathered all his things and stepped into the bushes. "Nick, Nick. Where are you?" The course voice of his partner came to Nick's ears. A half-smile graced Nick's lips and he rolled his eyes. "Nick, come on buddy, help a guy out will ya?" Nick watched and listened quietly from his hiding place as the source of the light neared him. Schanke started to walk across the rock where moments earlier Knight had been lying. He showed no sign of stopping. Instantly, Nick was there, physically restraining Don Schanke from taking another step. "Don't do that, Knight. You almost gave me a heart attack. Whew." He held his hand to his chest and could feel the pounding of his heart as it threatened to escape its confinement. "I wouldn't keep going, if I were you." Nick whispered low and deadly. The frantic pounding of Don's heart echoed in the vampire's ears. Schanke shined the light in front of him and there was nothing but dead air. As the beam of the flashlight lowered to the water below, the realization of what he had been about to do hit him like a sledgehammer between the eyes . He wavered and would have fallen over the edge if Nick had not still held him steady. Slowly, Schanke sank to the ground as his knees grew weak under him. "Man, oh man, oh man, oh man, oh man. I could have walked right off into oblivion." He rested his head in a hand. "You shouldn't go walking around here in the dark if you don't know where you're going," Nick whispered again, with a smile. He sat down by his partner who was just catching his breath. "What are you doing up here, anyway?" Schanke took the hand from his face and leaned out over the precipice. "I could have... " "But you didn't." There was no reaction to his words. "Schanke!" Nick shouted as he grabbed Schanke by the shoulders. "You're all right. Now, why did you come up here?" "Nick, honest, I wouldn't have come up here if Captain Cohen wouldn't have insisted." "Schank, it's okay. What does she want?" They both stood and Nick led the way to his camp. "You wouldn't believe it. The precinct has turned into a zoo since you left . Half the roster is out sick, flu or something, and there's been a fifty percent increase in the homicide calls. I'm tellin' you, every time you go on vacation, I get jinxed. Next time you go somewhere, promise me you'll take me with you." Nick laughed at his partner as he began to stow his gear. He had set up camp in an easily accessible cave. It had been convenient to hang a drape over the entrance during the day to shut out the sun's rays. The shelter was one of the reasons he had picked this location, the other being the incredible view. "How did you find me?" Nick asked as he rolled up his sleeping bag. "Natalie. I bribed Natalie into telling me where to find you. Said you gave her directions in case of emergencies. I tried to raise you on your cellular, but you were out of the service area." By this time, Nick had all of his supplies and equipment packed into his hiking pack. After strapping the pack onto his back, all that remained was a heavy shoulder bag which he handed to Schanke. "You carry this. Let's go ." "What ya got in here, lead weights?" Nick picked up the kerosene lamp and made one last check of the cave. Satisfied he had everything, he headed out into the open air. "Whatever you do, don't drop it. You'll a real tough time getting the stains out of your clothes." Schanke lumbered after Nick, trying hard to balance his flashlight and the bag. There were no mishaps and they arrived back at their cars in just under 45 minutes. Schanke leaned his back up against the caddy after carefully placing his burden on the seat. "Whew, that was some workout." He looked up to see his partner and noticed that Nick didn't appear to have worked up a sweat in the least. "How come you're so cool?" "It's called staying in shape, Schank. I'm surprised Myra hasn't let you know about that concept." "Don't be smart. Of course she has. If I were to exercise, I would be too wore out to do my job. Gotta save my energy, be ever alert and ready." "Yeah, sure." Nick pulled off the pack and lay it on his back seat. He climbed into the caddy and yelled out the window, "See ya back at the station." Schanke stood there watching his partner's taillights disappear. The homicide detective was stunned at the suddenness of his partner's departure. Don couldn't believe Nick hadn't argued about coming back early. He had prepared several different answers on the drive up, but now wouldn't be using any of them. He threw up his hands, got in his car and followed the caddy back down to Toronto. * * * Nick had driven home, unloaded his gear, cleaned up, and headed for the precinct. He still had a couple hours' work he could get in. Nick went straight to Cohen's office, passing Schanke, who was busy writing up a report. Don saw him go by. "Howdy, _pard_ner_." Knight continued on after nodding in response to the greeting. Amanda Cohen looked up from the work on her desk. "Am I glad to see you. We'll have to play catch-up later. I need you out there, now. We just received a call. Three people were found shot to death at the the Hillcrest Motel, 2143 Lakeshore Road West at Parklawn Ave." He turned to leave. "Oh, Knight, you look good... rested." Nick turned back to the Captain and smiled. "Wish I were still on vacation. " He slapped his partner on the back as he passed him. "Come on, Schank. We've got a hot one waiting for us. No rest for the wicked." They drove up to the scene and parked. All the regular players were already present including one Dr. Natalie Lambert. She looked up from her clipboard and smiled as the two detectives entered the motel room. "Nick, I didn't think you were coming back for another week." She winked at Schanke. "You just had to tell him. What did he bribe you with?" "A girl never tells," she replied, a mischievous smile playing on her lips. "Never mind, I'm back now. What do we have?" Nick asked, pulling on a pair of latex gloves. "We have a triple gangland-style execution here. All three victims appear to have been bound and gagged then quickly dispatched by a single gunshot to the back of the head. I would say that they were killed where they were found according to a preliminary examination of blood spatter patterns. Looks like the two men were surprised in their sleep, judging by their dress . The woman appears to be the only one who had a chance to struggle. She pointed out the abrasions on the victim's wrists and ankles. This is the only one who was dressed. No ID on any of the bodies and no personal items. The only thing we found was a suitcase of clothes. A young uniformed officer entered the room and went to report his findings to Nick. "The dumpster out back had been set on fire recently. It's still burning. We have officers out there with fire extinguishers attempting to put out the fire before any more of the evidence is destroyed." "Thanks LeRoy. Have they found their vehicle, yet?" Leroy nodded negatively then handed the detective a clipboard for his signature. Nick signed the form while addressing Schanke. "I'll bet you the perp burned all their personals." "I'll bet you're right," Schank replied then moved off to see what else had been discovered. The dresser in the room had a vanity mirror that was smashed. He went and stood before it. "Looks like someone had some fun smashing mirrors and left us a gift." He pointed out the drops of blood that were left on the broken shards. Nick looked over to the mirror. It triggered a memory and he got a faraway look in his eyes. end part 2a Robbi Knightie Long Live the Knight egersdor@magiclink.com The Power in the Blood Part 2b By Robbi Egersdorf c 1996 1888, Aboard a steamship, heading from London to America. Nick lay in his state room on board ship, his hands laced behind his head. From the experience of numerous sea voyages, Nick knew that it would take him a few days to adjust to the roll of the sea. He had not yet had a chance to adjust. A scream split the air, then the sound of glass breaking came from the next room. It startled him out of his waking dream. Nick rushed out into the hall and pounded on the door. "Are you all right in there? Open up!" He could hear the lock click and the door slowly opened to reveal the woman, Catherine. She stood there in her nightdress, her hair dissheveled. Catherine's eyes were red and swollen from crying and her face was tear stained. The expression on her face was one of profound sorrow and touched a chord in Nicholas. He rushed into the room and searched, finding no one else. The only thing amiss in her room was the shattered hand mirror he found up against one of the walls. He picked up the frame and turned to question her . She could see the question on his tongue and turned away from him, freezing the question there forever. "I am grateful for your concern, Mr. deBrabant. As you can see, I am in no danger. Please leave." Nicholas started to argue with the woman. He could sense a great turmoil roiling inside her and the need for someone. He reached for her, but stopped his hand in midair. If he were to offer her solace before she was ready, she would not accept it and she was not ready. He was unable to do anything more than to walk back out into the foyer. When he was out of her room, she closed the door and locked it behind him. He stood there for a long time, staring at the locked door, trying to make sense of what had just happened. The mystery of the beautiful, but melancholy woman wrapped its way around his heart one more time. He had to know what drove this woman, where she had come from, and where she was going. There he would find the key to what event had occurred in her short life that had so wounded her. He walked to his door and gave the other door one last look. It was none of his business what problem this young lady faced. If that was how he really felt, why did it intrigue him so? No, he would not let it rest at that. Somehow, somewhere, against his better judgement, he would know. * * * Present day. "Earth to Nick, are you there?" Nick came back to the present to find Schanke snapping his fingers in front of his face. "Where did you go, Nick? Mars?" "I was just thinking." He looked around and found a uniformed officer had just walked in the door. "Who called it in?" He pointed out the door then continued on with his assigned task. Nick followed her point while Schanke continued to nose around inside. He found a younger woman being interviewed by a uniformed officer. Nick approached them and flashed his badge for the woman to see. "Detective Knight. I would like to ask you a few questions, ah... " He looked to the officer to supply the name. He looked at his notes and read, "Claire Minton." "Claire," The detective used his most gentle, soothing voice. The woman was obviously distressed. "How did you discover the bodies?" "Ah... I was on my way over to the ice machine to get some ice and the door was open. I'm the manager and I knew there was a group in that room. I looked in and... Oh God! There was so much blood." She folded her arms over her chest and put a hand over her mouth. Nick gave her a few minutes and gave her time to compose herself and continue. She took a deep breath and went on, "Well, you saw what it looks like in there. It was then that I called the police. It's funny, I didn't even hear the shots." She had been nervously pulling and twisting her long, red hair as she spoke. "Can we see their registration?" "Sure. Follow me. Anything you need." She turned and walked back to the office, leading the way across the parking lot. When they arrived she pulled out her registration book and opened it to the page. "There were three of them, two men and a woman from out of town, says Vancouver." Nick took out his notepad and wrote down all the information. "Did they all come in to the office, did you see all three of them? "No, just one of the men, the one who signed the register. The others stayed out in the car. It was a blue Chevy Nova, I believe. I had to go out and read the license plate. I didn't bother to look at their faces when I did. I didn't think I needed to." "That's all right. Thanks for your cooperation. We may need to get a hold of you again." She nodded and he left her there, standing behind the counter. Nick returned to the room just as Natalie was zipping the last victim into a black body bag. He went over to one of the beds where the suitcase sat and opened it. A familiar odor came to his extremely sensitive nose. "I'd have these clothes checked for the presence of cocaine. I have a feeling they're carrying quite a load. If that's true, the motive wasn't drugs or money." He turned to his partner. "Maybe the killer wasn't aware of the valuable merchandise they were passing up." "Or maybe they didn't care," Nick finished Schanke's sentence. By the time they were finished at the scene, Nick had no time to go back to the station. As it was, he barely made it into the garage with the caddy as the sun began to peek over the artificial horizon of the city. end part 2b Robbi Knightie Long Live the Knight egersdor@magiclink.com The Power in the Blood Part 3 By Robbi Egersdorf c 1996 When he entered the loft, Nick made straight for the refrigerator and pulled out one of the bottles there. Pulling the cork with his teeth, he downed a good portion of its contents. "Welcome back to the real world," he spoke to the empty room that was the main living area of the loft. "Nothing like diving right in on your first day back." He turned to see Natalie step off the elevator and cross the room to him. She kept her eyes on the bottle the whole time. Nick looked at the bottle of blood in his hands, recorked it, and placed it back in the fridge. When he turned back to Natalie, he noticed the grocery bag she had been carrying. "Don't you have work to do... I mean with the case tonight and all. Schanke said the murder rate had doubled since I've been away." She had gone over to the counter and began unloading her burden. "I think Schanke exaggerated just a bit. I took a break. I had the feeling you needed me a little more than the stiffs at the morgue. Besides, they're not going anywhere." She started placing different items in the blender jar; powders, herbs, and several things he didn't recognize. "I'll probably end up working a double shift today. I've come up with a new combination for a protein shake I want you to try." He wrinkled his nose at the thought of drinking another one of her special recipes. He thought it better not to watch Natalie prepare it and went to find the remote to close the blinds. He stood and stared out the window, standing safely out of the sun's direct rays. The scenery from his window was sharpening in the strengthening light of day and he longed to bask in its life-giving warmth. He engaged the blinds then turned back to watch Natalie at her task. She was so persistent. Sometimes he wondered why she did it, why she kept at him when it seemed the object of her efforts wasn't cooperating. He smiled as she began to hum. It was a lucky twist of fate that he had been brought into her morgue, on her shift, in her city after suffering the traumatic effects of a pipe bomb explosion. What curiosity, what sheer strength and confidence in science did this woman have that allowed her to look on him without fear, but a desire to know and understand? He heard the familiar whirring of the blender as she mixed up one of her famous protein shakes. He enjoyed Natalie's company. There were times when he felt like he could tell her anything. Theirs was a comfortable kind of friendship that had been a rare and shining light in his 800 years of darkness. Yes, he would try it her way, again. She poured the milky, thick liquid into a glass she had pulled from the cupboard. Natalie approached him and held out her offering to him. "You need to quit drinking the blood all together. It's what keeps you from coming back over. Now, down the hatch with it." He took the cup from her and sniffed the contents. The look of repulsion left his face and was replaced by a smile. "This smells good. What did you do different?" "No questions, just _drink_." He put the cup to his lips and began drinking, not stopping until the contents were gone. "It's not bad, not bad at all. By jove, I believe you've got something here." They both laughed. He grabbed her up in his arms and held her. "I have a feeling this could really be it. What did you say is in this stuff?" "I didn't." Nick laughed again and pulled back to look at Natalie. "I guess it really doesn't matter, just as long as you're here to mix it for me." He pulled her close. "This is wonderful, but I've got to get back to work, I don't want to keep my patients waiting too long. They have a tendency to pile up on me. You, go get some rest and I'll see you tonight." He looked deeply into her eyes and the smile faded from his lips. She stood there, captivated between one minute and the next. He reached a hand up and placed it on her chin with his thumb resting on her lower lip. Slowly, he drew it across her mouth as a tingle ran up his arm. She closed her eyes, enjoying the sensuality of the moment. Drawing her close, he softly placed his lips on hers then drew back to study her face. He could see no resistance there. A smoldering desire he had not noticed before gazed back at him from behind those deep brown eyes. He kissed her again, this time harder and more demanding in urgency and desire. He turned her against the wall and pressed his body full against hers, pinning her there. Her heartbeat quickened and she could feel a warm rush pulse through her. The strength of her desire frightened her. She had held it inside, secretly knowing that it would never happen between the two of them unless they were able to find a cure. Now her feeling threatened to escape her control. She brought her arms up and pushed against his chest, but couldn't move him. With fists, she began to pound on him to get his attention. Snapping out of whatever force that held him, he looked at Natalie with something akin to shock and confusion. Withdrawing from her, he turned to hide from this woman. "Natalie, I'm sorry, I don't know where that came from. I guess I was just so happy, I... " "That's probably it." Self-consciously, she straightened her hair and clothes. "I think I better go now." She walked quickly to the lift and pulled open the door. Pausing for one last look, she reached a finger to her lips where they still burned with the passion of the moment now passed. Nick stood, unmoved from where she had left him. She let the door slide shut then pushed the button. The motor engaged and lowered her to the ground floor. Natalie's thoughts remained in an undecipherable jumble for the rest of that day. She performed her duties automatically with a minimum of thought. When she lay her head on her pillow that morning, she was still unable to understand or even accept how she felt about what had occurred earlier that morning. end part 3 Robbi Knightie With Dark Tendencies Long Live the Knight egersdor@magiclink.com The Power in the Blood Part 4 By Robbi Egersdorf c 1996 When Nick arrived at the station that night, there was quite a pile of files stacked on his desk. Schanke sat on his side of the work station, leaning back in his chair with one of those cat-who-ate-the-canary grins on his face . Nick stopped before reaching his desk. "What?" "Yours truly gets the dubious honor of, let's see, how did she put it? 'Give him the rundown on what's been going on around here while he's been away, having a good time.'" Nick had been glancing over the files, waiting for Schanke to finish ranting . The phone on Nick's desk rang. "Knight." He looked at Schanke. "We'll be right there." He hung up the phone with a smile on his face. "Your briefing is going to have to wait. Natalie wants to see us at the morgue." They walked in as Natalie was weighing some unnamed organ in a plastic baggie. "Glad you're here. I'll be with you in just a minute." She recorded the weight and placed the baggie in refrigeration. Natalie turned to face the pair of expectant detectives as she pushed the cooler shut with her back. Her eyes fell on Nick. She felt an uncomfortable flush creep up from her neck to color her cheeks. She looked down at the floor and walked past Nick to her desk. "What? Am I missing something here?" Schanke looked back and forth between Nick and Natalie. "Ah... Schank... it's nothing," Natalie replied. She definitely was not going to talk about this morning, certainly not with Schanke. "Yeah right, and pigs can fly." Nick lay a hand on his partner's arm. "Let it go, Schank. We're here on business, remember?" He had lain awake most of the day trying to understand what had happened with Natalie. It was almost like something else had taken over his will. "All right, but if it's something between the two of you, Myra's gonna want all the details." The dangerous look in Nick's eyes quickly put a stop to his line of questioning. Schanke put up both hands. "Okay! I surrender, but Myra won't be too happy about it." "I have a feeling you're not happy about it, either," Nick fired back at his partner. "Can we cut the chatter. I've got one too many bodies lying around, waiting for me. Can we get this done?" There was no amusement in her voice. The whole affair made her grouchy, heck she'd been working such long hours the last week and she was tired and that made her grouchier. Her caffeine level was getting low and when that happened, it made her _real_ grouchy. "I've gotta have a cup of coffee." She dropped the file she had picked up from her desk and stormed out of the room. When she arrived a few minutes later she was visibly calmer with the now full coffee cup in hand. Schanke carefully avoided the previous subject all together. "Nice scrubs you're wearing, Dr. Lambert. That shade of green becomes you." "Why thank you, Don Schanke... I think." She looked at Nick, puzzled. He just shrugged his shoulders. She went over and sat at her desk. After setting down her cup, she opened the folder and continued as if nothing had ever happened. "There were traces of ether around the mouths and in the sinuses of the male victims. There were no evident signs of struggle after the cords were tied to their hands and feet. It is plausible that this was pulled off by a single individual. As for the woman, I believe she was tied elsewhere and brought to the room where she was shot. I found fibers between the ropes and her skin. The fibers don't match the carpeting in the room. I was also able to obtain samples of skin cells from under her fingernails. No evidence of rape, but I did find contusions about the body suggesting a physical struggle before and/or after she was bound. That suitcase, forensics confirmed the clothing carried maybe half a kilo cocaine . I hear you guys got positive IDs on the fingerprints." "Two of them, anyway. They had prior narcotics convictions, a Danny Martin and Gregory Essex. The woman was clean," Schanke volunteered. "I'm afraid dental impressions aren't an option on her. Most of her oral cavity was blown away, you saw how she looked. Guess she'll have to remain a Jane Doe for now. "Whoever's out there did our jobs for us." "Come on Schanke, are you trying to say waking and shooting someone in the head is justice. We don't even know if the woman was involved in the drugs. She could be innocent." Natalie closed the file and stood from her desk. "Well, when you put it that way... " Schanke looked to Nick for some support and all that he got from him was a raised eyebrow. "Fine, guess ole Don Schanke's put his foot in his mouth once too often for one night. I'm outta here." He walked out and the door closed behind him. "What about the remains from the fire that were found when we arrived?" "I don't have anything on that, yet. The guys are still sifting through everything. Who knows if they'll find anything." She turned from him and started to pull the white sheet back from the body on the table. "Natalie, we need to talk... about this morning." Nick was nervously playing with his fingers. Natalie replaced the sheet over the cadaver. She took in a deep breath with her eyes closed and slowly exhaled. Opening her eyes, she turned to look into his eyes. They threatened to suck her under again. She couldn't afford to let her emotions control her at this time and not with a vampire. "I'll be at the loft in the morning. Is that good enough for you? By the way, did you have any more blood tonight?" He smiled. "I was a good boy. I drank the rest of your witches' brew when I got up and I feel great." Natalie felt safe in returning his smile. "Go on, get out of here." end part 4 Robbi Knightie With Dark Tendencies Long Live the Knight egersdor@magiclink.com The Power in the Blood Part 5 By Robbi Egersdorf c 1996 He drove home that morning after his shift, exhausted both emotionally and physically. He had a hard time recalling the last time he had been so tired . He made it off the elevator to the table where he took off his jacket and holster. After unburdening himself of these, he went to the fridge. All the bottles of blood were gone. "I took the liberty of emptying them, then I made you a fresh batch of my wonder medicine," Natalie's voice sounded in his ear as she walked up behind him with a glass of the pink, milky concoction in her hand. Nick had been so tired he hadn't even realized she was there. He took the glass from her and downed the contents quickly and smiled. "Just what I needed." She returned his smile then moved away from him back to the kitchen. He leaned up against the fridge with his eyes closed. He could feel the strength spread through him, beginning at his stomach and radiating out to his limbs. When he opened his eyes, they were golden and his fangs had descended. Nick reached up and felt them with his fingers. He felt rather strangely that minute, rather like he had just fed... on blood. He fought to force down the vampire in him before he approached Natalie. She was busy cleaning up her mess and putting her supplies away in her bag. "Nat... " She jumped and spun around. Putting a hand to her chest, she sighed, "I guess my mind was elsewhere. I didn't hear you." "Nat, what is in this? What are you feeding me?" He held up the empty goblet. She couldn't let him know what she was using. The idea had hit her while reading the paper one day. It was brilliant, yet simplicity itself. At the time, she had wondered why she hadn't thought of it before. The whole success of this experiment hinged on Nick being naive as to the main ingredient she was using. "I found this ancient Chinese herbalist, my god, he must be at least 120. He was such a wrinkled and shriveled man. I asked him what he would recommend... I didn't tell him details. He would have thought I was crazy. I just told him I had someone who had a disease that made them want to drink blood. He was familiar with the condition and told me about some ancient legend... well, you don't want to hear about that. Anyway, he mixed me up this powder and gave it to me. I thought I'd see what it could do to help. You know how useful herbs have been in medicine. in fact a lot of the medicines that we use today have plant origins and were used... " Nick reached up and put a finger to her lips to stop the parade of words from her mouth that seemed to be coming faster and faster. She was speaking a little too loudly, the pitch of her voice was too high to be normal. "I get the message." Natalie was nervous about something. He dismissed it as a reaction to him frightening her or maybe it was what had happened between them the last time they were alone together. Her lips felt moist and inviting under the touch of his finger. He felt an almost overwhelming desire to sample their sweetness... Abruptly he turned away. He couldn't allow himself to get out of control as he almost did the last time. "You better go, Nat." His voice echoed in his own ears, emotionless and flat. She reached for him, her fingers closed around his arm and it was as if he had been physically shocked. The electricity ran up his arm and he closed his eyes against the desire. "What's going on?" He didn't respond to her question in fear that he would lose the tenuous hold he had on his passion. "Nick? Talk to me." He replied in a bare whisper, "Unless you want to see me out of control, _leave_." His words were soft, yet they vibrated into her very soul, triggering a shiver of excitement that ran through her. She was torn between a desire to stay and sample the danger of his mood or run for her life. She did neither . "I'll see you tonight." Releasing his arm, she walked slowly to the door , her shoes punctuating each step. When she was gone, he turned to watch the door. How he wanted to have her, to feel her in his arms. He needed to feel the heat of her body, the beat of her heart. He needed to taste her passion and her fear that ran in her blood. Nick had to fight the urge to go after her, to take her. "This isn't right! " He decided the best thing for him to do was to get some rest. After taking a cool, relaxing shower, he slipped into his black pajamas. Sliding between the smooth black silk sheets on his bed, he drew some comfort from the cool fabric. It had a soothing effect on him and he was lulled to sleep almost immediately. Natalie didn't feel safe until she was in her car and on her way home. His words repeated in her mind with such force, he could have been sitting beside her, whispering them in her ear, "Unless you want to see me out of control... see me out of control... out of control... " Shaking her head, and taking a deep breath did little to calm her. She had never seen him out of control in all the time they had known each other. She had only seen him with tight rein on the vampiric passion that raged inside him. Even when it seemed he had lost control, it was still there under it all denying the one part of him he could not _be_ -- the killer. "But, do be careful. Have you never considered the possibility that Nicholas' so-called 'condition' is the very quality in him that you adore." The words replaced Nick's and were spoken in her mind by Lacroix's voice. She had heard him on numerous occasions during his Nightcrawler monologues, but she couldn't remember where she had heard him speak those specific words . Where had she heard them? Maybe these mysterious words were true, at least partly. The thought of Nick being different, being immortal, somehow excited her in many different ways. He excited her curiosity and desire to know the unknown. He excited the woman in her with the knowledge that they would be playing with fire to make love. She had held everything back from Nick and longed to give it to him, to give her whole total self to him. The thought of death or a life of darkness wiped away all her thoughts of becoming intimate with him. There it was again, that wall that stood between the two of them -- the vampire. No. Vampires are fascinating creatures in and of themselves. That was what she felt. Natalie would have to be content to live out her days with Nick by her side as a mortal man and she was now beginning to believe that it could really be happening. For some reason, that was a very frightening prospect to her. There was just one pesky little problem, somehow her wonder medicine acted as a strong aphrodisiac on Nick relatively soon after ingestion. So far, it had not been that big of a problem. It might even clear up after a while. It was definitely something that bore watching. What was it her Pharmacology teacher had said, "All medications have side effects; it's just a matter of balancing that against the positive effects, are they worth enduring the negative for?" So far, the answer was a resounding _yes_. She really hadn't really lied to Nick earlier about the ingredients, she had just omitted one important fact. She _had_ gone to the Chinese herbalist and he _had_ given her the powder, but there was still her secret ingredient that he could never know about. She had closed the curtains in her bedroom, making it dark as midnight. Natalie lay her head on her pillow, sinking into her soft sheets. She reached an arm over to the opposite side of her double bed and wished with all her heart, that there could be someone to fill the emptiness. Not just any someone, but one certain someone. end part 5 Robbi Knightie With Dark Tendencies Long Live the Knight egersdor@magiclink.com The Power in the Blood Part 6 By Robbi Egersdorf c 1996 "Man! I hate cases like this!" Schanke threw down the pile of papers he had been sifting through. Nick looked from his computer screen and smiled. "I thought you liked the 'research' part of our job. I mean, you do it so excellently. You should be homicide research detective of the year." "Cut the crap, Knight. I've looked through so much information I'm getting blisters on my corneas and we still haven't positively IDed our Jane Doe. That partial driver's license they pulled out of the fire matched, but it doesn't match. She could be the Helena Woodrow the license belongs to or she might not be. The description on the license matched close, but what if it isn't her? There are no fingerprints to go on. She hadn't lived at the address listed for sometime now and there wasn't enough of a face left for anyone who knew her to identify her." Schanke had been pacing back and forth between the adjoining desks that made up the partners' work station. Nick stood and pulled on his jacket. "You sound like your stomach is doing most of the talking. Let's go get something to eat. I'm buying." Schanke stopped his manic pacing dead and stared open mouthed at his partner . This was the partner who had not bought him a mean in all the time they had spent together as a team! "And will the good detective be joining me in a little repast?" Schanke asked with his best formal tone of voice. Nick clapped him on the shoulders. "I think I could manage to eat a little something with you." A wide smile lit Don's face and Nick returned it. Schanke snagged his coat and followed Knight out the back door to the caddy. The partners stopped at Schanke's favorite souvalaki stand. They ordered three orders, one with no garlic for Nick. Sitting in the caddy, they ate from the to-go boxes in order to be near the radio. Schanke dug right into his food while Nick sat and looked at his. Nick had a desire to eat something and it did smell good, even with the garlic he could smell from Schanke's food. "Come on, partner, you're really in for a treat." Schanke encouraged Nick with his mouth full. "I wish I had some catsup." Nick looked at Schank who was just about to take another bite. "I'll get some for you." Schanke was halfway out the door before Nick called him back. "Never mind, I'll eat it like this." He had kept up with the protein shakes Natalie had been feeding him. Over a week and a half had passed since returning from vacation and he hadn't taken any blood in all that time. He had had a craving for blood that never seemed to die, but he could drink Natalie's creation and it would somehow sate his hunger enough that he could resist. Now he was beginning to have a desire for regular food. Nick was a little excited and a little scared. If he could eat this food and enjoy it, it might mean he was on his way to a cure. A cure. He had felt it was possible on so many occasions, just to have his hopes dashed on the cruel rocks of reality. He was a little leery of getting his hopes up too high. Nick was also just a little afraid to believe that maybe this could be it. It always hurt so badly every time his dreams came crashing down around him. He raised the souvlaki to his mouth. Closing his eyes, he took a bite. Nick slowly chewed the food as he savored the taste. He opened his eyes in surprise and looked over to Schanke. "You're right, this is great!" He said with his mouth full. "Delicious." Nick wore the biggest grin on his face as he took a second bite. He had been afraid to tell Natalie about the craving for food that had been growing over the past few days. Nick had to be sure first. He could see her poo-pooing the notion as wishful thinking and caution him not to get his hopes up. Now he had something solid to share with his cohort. As for the aphrodisiac effect of the concoction, even though the feelings weren't intensifying, they weren't diminishing. He had found it easier to control himself if he was alone when he drank his meals. It was a small price to pay for the potential he had to gain, to be able to walk out of the darkness and back into the light. Nick finished all of his single order about the same time as Schanke finished his two. Nick turned to his partner. "Now that your stomach has been fed, I'll bet you can think more clearly, clearly enough to be able to discuss this case properly." Nick continued, starting with the known facts, "Okay, let's go over what we know. We know the three victims, well at least the male victims, signed into the motel using assumed names. We have yet to determine if Sally Winfield was the woman's name or if it was Helena Woodrow from the driver's license, or neither. The vehicle was registered to Gregory Essex, one of the victims and it hasn't been found. The men were heavy into drug trafficking, but the woman had no priors," Nick recounted, "I think we need to talk to someone who knew Gregory Essex and Danny Martin. If we could just find someone who knew them well enough to be able to tell us what woman they were hanging out with at the time." "81 kilo, 81 kilo, respond." The radio in the caddy blared, snapping them out of their pondering. Nick reached for the mic. "This is 81 kilo responding." "81 kilo, proceed to the Lakeside Industrial Park. We believe the car from the Hillcrest Motel slayings has been found." "81 kilo, out." Nick replaced the mic in its holder. "There's your car. Maybe it'll give us a few answers." They dumped their garbage in the waste receptacle and headed for the park. A blue Chevy Nova was just being lifted out of the water when they pulled up . The water gushed from the windows and made a trail as the huge crane swung the vehicle over to solid ground and lowered it to the pavement. Schanke approached the car. "That's it all right. The license plate matches the one the motel manager gave us." He peered into the window, careful not to touch anything. Even after nearly two weeks below the surface of the lake, there was still a possibility he could spoil evidence. The level of cloudy water in the vehicle was steadily lowering as it leaked out at his feet. There was really nothing to see, only various articles of debris floating on the water and a thin layer of silt left behind on everything as the water receded. "The lab boys are gonna have a party with this one." "Let's hope they can get something usable." Nick's voice sounded from behind him as he walked around to the back of the car. The trunk had been pried open and the lid flopped up to reveal nothing more than more articles of garbage floating on the water. "At least there are no more bodies," Nick stated, relieved at the news. "You thought we might find someone else?" Nick thought back to the smashed mirror they had found in the motel room. "I believe our killer is a suicide risk as much as a risk to kill again." Nick looked his partner in the eye. "Where do you get that notion? We don't even have a motive at this point." "Call it a hunch, Schank." Nick got a faraway look as his thoughts went back over 100 years ago. * * * 1888, Aboard a steamship, heading from London to America. Nicholas stood at the rail of the ship as he often did. Now that he had become accustomed to the roll of the sea, he quite enjoyed it. The rocking motion had a soothing effect on him and great powers to assist him into temporary forgetfulness of his present regrets and self-recriminations. His enhanced sight could see dolphins playing in the distance jumping and cavorting with each other. How he longed to feel such freedom from his cares and worries. He would always be a prisoner of a lifestyle he abhorred. With this voyage, he was leaving his warden behind him in London. They would be united again at some future date, he had no doubts about it. When he saw Lacroix again, it would be too soon for Nicholas. He did miss his lovely Janette. When he had last left her, she was greatly distressed at the illness of their master. She had said he had been poisoned and Lacroix had said it was by the blood of a barber. Lacroix had asked Nicholas to make sure the barber was dead. "Let him suffer, Janette," he had said, "I'm leaving for America tomorrow night." Then he had turned his back on the both of them, refusing to fulfill his master's request to finish the job. Nicholas had gone to the alleyway behind the barber's shop and seen the man lying there, but had not deigned to take his life. "Why won't he leave me alone? Why won't he allow me to live my life?" He shouted to the sea and the wind, pounding on the railing with clenched fists . Closing his eyes, he allowed the wind to wash over him and cleanse him of his frustrations and anger. As he stood there, facing out at sea, listening to the wind and the waves, the faint sound of crying and praying came to his sensitive ears. The sound was so piteous, so profoundly desperate, that he could not help but be drawn to its origin. He moved to the stern of the ship and witnessed Catherine standing at the rail, her head tilted towards the sky, her eyes closed in the attitude of fervent prayer. She was so heartwrenchingly beautiful as she stood there in the moonlight. He caught the last snatches of her words, "... I commend my soul into thy hands, amen." Then she began to climb over the railing. He was there at her side in an instant, restraining her from throwing herself into the sea. She struggled to be free of his hold. "Please, sir. I am not worthy to live. Let the sea take my life." She cried mournfully as her struggles abated and she slumped against him, broken and sobbing. He swept her up in his strong embrace and her arms went around his neck, clinging to him, the only stable and steady influence in the raging storm that had become her life. Nicholas took her to her room and lay her on the bed. "Don't leave." She begged in barely a whisper as he tried to disentangle himself from her. He nodded and gently removed her shoes from her feet and placed her under the covers. He then removed his own shoes and sat on the bed next to her. Gently, he stroked her soft hair with one hand and held her hand with the other. Nicholas sat there through the night, riding the torrents of her emotions until, spent, she slept in his arms. "Sleep, now, sweet angel. I will watch over your dreams." He whispered to her then placed a gentle kiss on her brow as he marveled at the peaceful expression Catherine wore in the throes of sleep when only moments before, her features had been contorted with such pain and torment. * * * Present day: Nick turned to the officer who had come up behind him and talked with him for a while, giving further instructions and getting information. "I believe we're done here, Schanke. Laferty gave me the name and address of the woman who reported it. end part 6 Robbi Knightie With Dark Tendencies Long Live the Knight egersdor@magiclink.com The Power in the Blood Part 7 By Robbi Egersdorf c 1996 The address Laferty had given Nick was in one of the poorer neighborhoods of Toronto. The house itself was pretty rundown and there was no vehicle parked out front. The lights were on in the house so they approached the house and Nick knocked on the door. A woman in her mid twenties with short mousy brown hair answered the door. Nick flashed his badge at her. "Metro Homicide. I'm Detective Knight and this is Detective Schanke. We would like to ask you a few questions about the car you reported in the lake." "Sure." Her voice was quiet and unsure. She wore a sweater which she kept pulled about her with one hand. When the other hand wasn't on the door, she was hugging herself. Her eyes kept darting from the detectives to the floor . She moved aside to let the officers in and then closed the door behind them. "Ms. Osborne, how did you know the car was in the lake?" Schanke started the questions as he pulled out his notepad and began to write. "Well... I was driving, must have been about ten days ago, looking for an address." She put a hand up to her neck as she spoke. There was a tremor in her voice. "I guess I got lost and ended up by the lake." "You guess you got lost?" Schanke broke in. "Either you got lost or you didn't." "I got lost," she said firmly. She turned away from the detectives and walked over to a shelf and started fingering a portrait of a young woman, probably a graduation picture. The clean, shiny face shown with all the promise and dreams of youth. "Go on." Schanke prompted as his partner stood silently watching the non- verbal messages this woman was conveying. She turned back to face the men. "That's when I saw someone drive the car into the lake." "Why did it take you so long to report it?" "I thought for sure someone else would report it. I kept watching the papers." At this point, Nick stepped forward and pulled a picture from his breast pocket and handed it to the woman. It was a blow up of the photo from Helena Woodrow's license. He handed it to the woman who grasped it at the bottom right corner. "Have you seen this woman?" She studied the photo then handed it back to Nick, who took it carefully by the edges. "It was dark and I didn't see the woman's face." "So it was a woman?" Schanke picked up the questioning again. "Yes. That's all I could tell. A woman drove the car into the lake and walked away." She folded her arms in front of her again and hugged herself. "I don't know anything else, officers. I can't help you anymore." She reached up to brush a stray strand of hair out off her face and behind an ear. "Thanks, Ms. Osborne. I think we've got what we need. We'll be in touch if we have any more questions." Schanke started to protest. There were a few things he still wanted to ask this woman. She had actually seen their killer. Nick gave him a look that said "Let's go." Schanke let out a sigh and acquiesed to Nick's lead. "Thank you, Ms. Osborne." When they were back in the caddy, Nick carefully placed the picture in an envelope and labelled it. "She's not telling us everything. She's just too nervous." "I agree with you, Schanke." "You do? You do." Schanke was overwhelmed. It wasn't often Nick agreed with him. Nick handed the envelope to Schanke. "A fingerprint sample. We can compare it to the ones lifted at the scene. I don't think we'll find a match, though. She doesn't come across as being capable of such brutality." When they arrived at Natalie's lab, Nick greeted her with a kiss on the cheek. Schanke got a twinkle in his eye and raised an eyebrow. "Don't say it," Natalie wagged a cautionary finger at the detective. "Don't worry." He raised his hands in surrender. "The topic is taboo. Won't mention it." Then he winked at Nick. Nick was the first to turn the conversation to the business at hand. He pulled out the evidence envelope that contained the photo. "Fingerprint sample from one Megan Osborne. She's the one who informed us where the car was. There's a good thumbprint on the front and maybe more on the back, if they didn't get smudged. If you can, get this to forensics and have them lift any latents they might find to compare with those found at the murder scene." She took the packet and set it on the counter. "I finally got my partner here, to try some of that souvlaki I've been telling him about for so long and he liked it." Natalie stood there, stunned. Dazed was a better word for what she felt. It had now been twelve days since she had started him on the regimen of protein shakes with the protein supplied by a dehydrated blood product. She had hypothesized that Nick's system would accept that protein it recognized and needed for nourishment ie -- blood protein. She had been slowly decreasing the amount of powdered blood and replacing it with protein from other sources. So far, he had shown no side effects other then the sexual arousal and no further uncontrollable desire to take blood from any other sources. Natalie had now reached the point where she was mixing the proteins half and half. Now Nick had voluntarily eaten real food. She turned to Nick. "You ate souvalaki?" He smiled and nodded his head, confirming what she had hoped would eventually occur. It was happening much quicker than she had imagined it would. Eating was a small step and Nick had reached that point before, but it was progress nonetheless. She mentally cautioned herself not to get her hopes up too high. This could just be another failure. She laughed aloud and threw her arms around Nick. "Now you're going to have to take me out to dinner." She looked into his dark blue eyes. "Let me think about it." She raised an eyebrow. "I'll get back to you tomorrow, I promise." She looked deeply into his eyes and was ready to be swallowed up in them, those eyes that had seen the world grow and evolve for nearly 800 years. Schanke loudly cleared his throat. Nick and Natalie looked at Schanke and realized where they were and what they were about to do. Natalie blushed profusely and they both looked around rather embarrassed. They backed away from each other. Natalie self-consciously adjusted her scrubs. "Well, that's all I have, if you don't have anything for us." Nick looked from the floor to Natalie. "Ah, no. Nothing on the car, yet. The lab boys are working on that as we speak." Nick braved planting a kiss on Natalie's cheek before he and Schanke left the Coroner's Building. "I can't wait to tell Myra!" "Schank!" Nick's tone was sharp with an implied warning. "Don't worry. Not a word to Natalie. I got it." An irritated tone laced Schanke's statement. "What, do you think I have a death wish?" They exited the building. Nick clapped Schanke on the shoulder. "What do you say we see if we can knock off early tonight. I think you're suffering from toasted brain syndrome. We both are. We'll be able to come at this fresh tomorrow. What do ya say?" "I'm with you, buddy." end part 7 Robbi Knightie With Dark Tendencies Long Live the Knight egersdor@magiclink.com The Power in the Blood Part 8 By Robbi Egersdorf c 1996 Nick and Schanke both begged off that night and Captain Cohen hadn't seen anything wrong with their going home a little early. Since this case had broke, they had been putting in a lot of extra hours. When the detectives had first come to her precinct, she was skeptical of their skills, regardless of what the records said. She had to see the results for herself to be convinced. Now a little OT didn't bother her, she knew it would all pay off in the end. She watched the receding backs of her star homicide team, laughing and joking on their way out the door. She smiled as she thought about how well they had been working together as partners lately. Maybe Nick Knight had finally matured enough as an officer to truely understand the meaning of "partner". She knew this was only his second year with a partner. Previously, he had demanded to work alone and Captain Stonetree had allowed it until he found a way to ease Nick into a situation where he would have to accept someone. At first, it was only at the end of his shift that they had worked together with Schanke being on the day shift and Nick on the night. Slowly, Schanke began pulling more and more OT and before Nick realized what happened, he had a full-time partner. When they had been transferred to her precinct, Stonetree had warned her how hard it would be to keep the pair working together. Mostly, it was Nick who had a tendency to run off and do his "Lone Wolf" thing. She had noted a tendency for the two to exhibit the behaviors of a couple that was married as they settled more into their relationship, but that had passed quickly and she had been very grateful for it. She had had to take a constant vigilance to assure they worked together, but it had been worth it. This detective duo had the highest ratio of solved cases of all the homicide teams in Toronto. She turned and went back to her desk and the work that waited her there. * * * Nick stepped off the lift into his apartment. After ridding himself of his jacket and gun, he sank into a chair. He had been working extra the past couple of weeks and could feel the fatigue deep in his bones. He lay back his head and closed his eyes, relishing the delicious sensations of his body as he unwound. Something stirred about him and he jerked awake. He opened his eyes to see Lacroix sitting on the couch. Nick sighed, "What are you doing here?" "Can't a friend come to visit in times of trouble without being suspect?" Nick stood and paced away from the couch. Lacroix followed, stopping just behind Nick to whisper in his ear, "You may believe you are slowly slipping through my fingers. You are sadly mistaken. The more you are convinced of your 'freedom', the tighter my grip will become. Not a threat, really; just the truth." Nick spun around to face his tormentor to find the room absolutely empty. Lacroix would never change, regardless of whether Nick ever found the cure for this curse that was his life. The master vampire would always be there to speak doom to all his hopes and dreams. * * * Both Nick and Schanke arrived simultaneously on Natalie's "doorstep" bright and early the next night. They were eager for any news forensics might have been able to glean from the car. "I've been waiting to see you guys. I've got lots of news," Natalie greeted them as they walked through the door. She had been busy looking at some slides under the microscope. After writing something on the clipboard, she turned to face the pair. "My, don't you two look rested. I wish I felt that good." She walked past Nick, to her desk and picked up the folder laying there and handed it to Nick who opened it and began to peruse its contents. "They were able to lift some pretty good prints from the car by using SPR, small particle reagents, to develop the latents. Isn't modern technology wonderful? They found prints of two of the victims -- the men, inside the car. Strangely, prints from our Jane Doe were missing. That in itself doesn't mean a whole lot until you consider none of her prints were in the motel room, either. Remember those fibers I found under the ropes she was tied with? They were of the same type and color as the carpeting from the floor and trunk of the car." "Man, this is getting stranger by the minute!" Schanke burst out as he crossed the room to stand. "Wait, there's more. They found another set of prints in the car and on the trunk. These prints just happen to match a set of prints that were found at the murder scene and hadn't been eliminated as belonging to staff. It's a good bet they belong to our killer." Nick pulled out the sheet that displayed the prints, their only real link to the killer along with the blood that had been left behind on the shattered mirror. "How about the picture I brought by this morning? Were they able to lift any good prints?" "Yes, the thumbprint was perfect, but no match to any of the other prints. "Damn!" Schank swore, "That lets her off the hook, our only promising lead. " "She'll still be useful to us, I just have this feeling. She's connected somehow." "Maybe you're right, partner. I'll see you at the station. I've got doughnuts to meet, or is that eat, and reports to write. Hasta la bye bye." Schanke waved as he walked out the door. "I'll catch up with you in a little bit." "So Nick, have you eaten anything since last night?" "No. I think I better take it easy on the food. I was rather uncomfortable all day." He rubbed his stomach, feeling the ghost of activity where none had been for centuries. "You should expect some strange sensations as the parts of you that have been lying around dormant, start to wake up." She went to the fridge, removed a tray of specimen tubes and set them on the counter. "Yeah, I guess you're right." There was something in his tone of voice that caught her attention. She stopped looking through the tubes and turned to look Nick in the eye. "You're not having second thoughts about this, are you?" "You know I want this cure, Nat." He looked at her with a puzzled expression. "Yes, I know. You still didn't answer my question. Are you having second thoughts?" Nick looked down at his hands as he fidgeted with them. "Lacroix came to see me after I got home this morning." "Ah, that is what this is about, Lacroix. What did he have to say?" She leaned up against the counter and folded her arms in front of her. He looked into her eyes. "Essentially, he said I would never be free of him . The more I slipped away, the stronger his hold would be." Natalie raised an eyebrow. "Exactly what I'd expect him to say." She walked towards Nick and stopped when she came face-to-face with him. "You don't have to listen to him. We can win this this time. We _will_ win." Her voice was tinged with fear. There were times Nick got the distinct impression Natalie Lambert was acting like she had a lot more to lose then a medical experiment, a lot more than losing a friend. Maybe they had started out with a platonic relationship, but it had grown and developed into a warm, companionable friendship, then into love. He still carried the memory of Valentine's Day with him while her's lay buried from her consciousness. He had been ever so careful to stay at arm's length from her since then, but the effect of these protein shakes made it difficult to ignore the growing desire he felt for her. So often in the past two weeks, he had fantasized making love to this woman in a mortal way, without the fangs and without the blood. Somehow, this was a very strong turn-on in and of itself, to do the impossible with her, to engage in a normal coupling with a woman in a way that had been denied him for centuries. He could feel the passion spread throughout his body as the warmth of it leaked into every facet of his being . He reached up and brushed a stray lock of hair out of Natalie's face. Their eyes had locked and they were moving together, unawares of the physical world around them. "The PCR results... " Grace burst into the room and looked up from the reports she carried and to the couple. She realized what she had interrupted. She had known what deep feelings these two had had for each other for a long time now. She had never been able to understand why they never did anything about it. "I'll just leave you two alone." She started to back out the door. Natalie's face flushed a crimson red. "I'll be right with you, Grace." "Uhh, I'll be leaving anyway." His eyes had not left Natalie's, even though she had been looking all around the room in discomfort. "Azure, tomorrow night. We're both off. I checked," Nick whispered. "What?" Natalie snapped back from her thoughts. "Dinner, Azure, tomorrow night. Pick you up just after dark?" Nick repeated. "Oh, dinner. Yes, tomorrow night would be great." Nick walked by Grace as he made for the door. She elbowed him as he passed. "Don't let her get away this time." Her words followed him through the rest of the night. end part 8 Robbi Knightie With Dark Tendencies Long Live the Knight egersdor@magiclink.com The Power in the Blood Part 9 By Robbi Egersdorf c 1996 1888, Aboard a steamship, heading from London to America. Softly she stirred beside him as the tendrils of sleep fell from her consciousness. Catherine sat up with a start when she had come awake enough to realize she was not alone in her bed. Her heart raced in her chest and pounded in Nicholas' ears. He could smell the sweet scent of her blood as it rushed through her veins, calling a strong hunger to stir in him. Catherine took a deep breath and willfully tried to calm herself, but the shaking inside her would not go away. The events of the night before came crashing down on her senses, pinning her heart down and leaving a hollow, dark feeling in her chest. Tears sprang to Catherine's eyes and trailed down her cheeks. Nicholas reached up and cupped her jaw in his palm and wiped a tear with his thumb. "Why the tears? And why the mad rush to end such a beautiful life as yours?" This kind gentleman had shown her such compassion and caring for a total stranger. She suddenly had an overwhelming desire to share her sorrows with him. "I... " She turned her face away from his. It wasn't easy giving voice to her shame. "I am not worthy to live. You should have let me die," she stated, flatly. Her tone was too emotionless for Nicholas. She had shut him out again. He grabbed her shoulders and spun her around to face him. "You need to share the burden." He stared into her eyes, focusing on the steady echoes of her life's pulse. "Tell me of your sorrow." "I killed them just as surely as if I had stabbed them through the heart. They lie, cold in their graves because of a careless young girl's fancy." Her voice trailed off as her mind was lost in the events of the past. It had not been often he had the displeasure to witness such a profound sorrow in one so young. "What happened?" "I was left to tend the wee ones, my brothers and sister. They were so small and innocent. If someone had to die, why couldn't it have been me? They were so innocent," She wailed. Leaning forward, she put her head on his chest to draw from his care and concern for her. "I was only out of the house for a few short minutes." Her voice had gone flat and emotionless again. "When I returned, the house was afire. It was too late for me to enter to rescue my charges. I can still hear their screams as they died." He was so stunned by her revelation, he just sat there, unable to respond. He could have said, "It wasn't your fault," but it might not be true. She would not believe him anyway. He could have said, "Everything will be all right," but the words froze in his throat as he remembered the guilt that he had carried inside for 660 years. The words would ring hollow and meaningless over such a deep wound. Instead, he pulled her face back and lowered his lips towards hers. She met him with a boiling passion that carried with it the guilt and the energy of her short life that may not burn much longer. When he pulled back to look into her eyes, she spoke, her voice husky with desire, "Make love to me, Nicholas deBrabant." She moved to kiss him and he barred her way. * * * Nick awoke with a start, not sure what had disturbed him. He wiped his sweat-drenched forehead and looked at his hands. Instead of the deep red blood sweat that usually appeared, it was a clear light pink sweat like blood diluted with water... Could it be? Could he be making the change? Just then the banging on his door repeated itself and he heard the familiar voice of Schanke, "Wakey, wakey, wakey Nicky-boy. Time to get up. This is Schanke your partner. Do not, I repeat do not come out shooting." He chuckled to himself as he entered the living area of the loft. Nick smiled and shook his head as he sat on the edge of his bed. "I'll be down in a minute, Schank. Keep your shorts on," Nick called back. He ran a hand down his face and blinked his eyes a few times in an effort to get the sleep out of them. The clock read 10:42 am. No use putting it off any longer, he was curious as to why his partner had come to his place this time of day. He stood from the bed. Nick, still wearing his black silk pajamas, padded down the stairs in his bare feet. Halfway down the stairs he looked over and saw Schank sitting in the black leather chair, sprawled out with a leg hooked up over an arm rest. "Make yourself at home." Schanke stood up. "You're up." "Thanks to you. What do you want? If Cohen needs me to work... " "No." Schanke cut him off, "I just had something I wanted to discuss about the case. I was doing a background check on our Ms. Osborne. You said you had a feeling about her. Well, you're right... sometime, anyway. I thought I'd check her out." "Ah, Schanke appreciates my superior deductive reasoning." Nick had continued down the stairs and was about to sit on the couch. He motioned for his partner to do the same. "Don't get a swelled head, Nicky. I said you're right 'sometimes'." "Ah," Nick well understood the compliment that wasn't. "So, what did you find out?" Schanke slapped the folder with the information he had gleaned from his computer down in front of Nick. Nick reached for it and thumbed through the pages. "I need a drink. You got any of that red wine I know you keep around?" Nick looked up from the papers and smiled, "Yeah, over on the counter. Corkscrew's in the drawer." He returned to reading the report. Nick had bought a couple bottles of wine just for this sort of occasion. "Good French stuff, I see." Schanke examined the label before uncorking the bottle. "What else?" Nick didn't look up from his reading. Schank returned with two glasses, poured one and handed it to Nick who accepted it and took a sip. "Says here she has a sister, a Brenda Osborne. In '93 the sister had an 18-month-old die under suspicious circumstances. After dropping the baby at the hospital, she disappeared. Toxicology revealed massive amounts of cocaine in the little body." Nick looked to his partner who was now sitting and sipping his wine. "Exactly. Could it be possible her sister could have had something to do with the killing?" "You know Schanke, I do believe you've got something here. Run with it." He handed the papers back to his partner. "Why, thank you. Could it be that the famous Nicholas Knight is beginning to appreciate my superior deductive reasoning?" Nick looked at Schanke and began to laugh, "Now, don't you get a swelled head." They both laughed. "If you'll excuse me," Don downed the rest of the wine in his goblet, "Ahh, good stuff. It's been real, but I better get home and get some sleep. Myra probably thinks I got lost or something." Nick watched Donald Schanke walk onto the lift and give him a last wave good -bye before the door slid shut. After recorking the bottle and putting the glasses in the sink he went back up to his bedroom to try and get some more sleep before his date with Natalie. It wouldn't do for him to show up unrested. Everything had to be perfect for tonight. end part 9 Robbi Knightie With Dark Tendencies Long Live the Knight egersdor@magiclink.com The Power in the Blood Part 10 By Robbi Egersdorf c 1996 After dressing and coming down the stairs, he went straight to the refrigerator out of habit. When he had pulled the door open, he remembered. The only occupant of the fridge was a container of the milk pink substance Natalie had made up for him. He pulled out the container and looked at it for a time then replaced it on the shelf, closing the door. He decided not to take the chance that drinking the protein shake would prove disastrous for the night he had planned. Besides, he was going out to a restaurant to eat. He smiled at the thought. How much more "normal" could you get then to go out on a date and eat dinner? It almost felt as though he had slipped on someone else's skin. It felt different inside. He was going to make it to mortality this time, he could just feel it. Throwing caution to the wind, he could not deny it any longer; he was becoming mortal. He stopped on the way to Natalie's apartment and picked her up a bouquet of flowers, a mixture of wildflowers. It wasn't the cost of the flowers that made the choice for him. Natalie knew he could afford to buy her a truckload of roses in every color of the rainbow. Nick bought Natalie wildflowers more for who he was and where he had come from. He had enjoyed living in the wild, more than any other lifestyle he had known. He loved the wildflowers for their simplicity, a simplicity that made them so much more beautiful to him than the rose. When he got to her door, she answered in the same dress she had worn to Azure when she had met Lacroix there. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea, maybe he was taking too many chances that something might trigger Natalie's memory. Would she understand and be able to accept the events that occurred that night? Would she understand that he had sworn to Lacroix that he did not love her in order to protect her? How would she accept the fact that he had taken her in his arms with the "intention" of bringing her across. She would not understand that he would rather kill her than to bring her into a world of darkness. He was still plagued with nightmares of that night. He considered himself very lucky his desperate plan had worked and Lacroix had not required him to kill her. If that had happened, this life would have been over. How could he have lived with himself after killing the closest friend and confidante he had had in all his 800 years? She smiled, but he couldn't return her smile. The more he looked at her, the more nervous he became. Nick wanted to turn around and run, but a sense of honor and duty to a promise he had made her, kept him glued to the spot where he stood. His discomfort was obvious to Natalie and the smile left her face. "Are you going to stand in the hall all night?" "Oh..., no." He looked down at his hands and remembered the flowers he held . "These are for you. He held them out to her and she took them. "They're beautiful. Let me put them in some water, then, I'll be ready to go." She turned and was halfway to the kitchen when he spoke. "Nat... " She stopped dead in her tracks. "Well, here it comes. You can't do this because you don't think you're ready yet." She turned to face him, an eyebrow raised. "Am I right?" "You know, well... " "Am I right?" "Well... Yeah." She made a huffing sound. "What is there to be afraid of? Are you afraid someone will see you with me?" "No." "Are you afraid to eat again? If that's the problem, then go easy this time . You don't even have to eat." "It's not that, Nat." "If that's not it, then what is it?" He opened his mouth, but there was nothing to say. Nothing he could say. "It doesn't matter. We'll go." "Are you sure, because if there's a problem I want to know it now, not when we get out in public and you embarrass me 'cause I really hate to be embarrassed..." "It'll be fine. It's just a big step for me," he lied trying to gloss over his hesitation. He could see there was no way she would ever let him back out of this one. Nick was regretting setting it up. He should have known better in the first place. All he could do now, was to make the best of it. She stood watching, unsure of what to do next. "I know what it is, it's what happened on Valentine's Day, isn't it? I made a fool of myself and you were too much of a gentlemen to tell me." "That's not it. Quit worrying and go put those in water so we can go." He forced a smile for her. They drove through the city in silence. Nick looked at Natalie, trying to read her. She just sat, staring forward not really seeing any of the sights of the city at night. "Table for two for Nicholas Knight." "Aw, yes," the Maitre d' looked down his list. "It will just be a minute, sir. If you would like to wait at the bar, I will come and get you." They both took seats at the bar. "You're being awfully quiet, Nat." She took a sip of her drink before answering. "I was just thinking, it's a shame I don't remember the last time we were here. You didn't lie to me when you said we had a really good time, did you?" "Why would I lie? If you made a fool of yourself, I would never let you live it down." She laughed. "You wouldn't, would you?" He laughed with her, hoping that would be the end of it. Just then, they were informed their table was ready. The Maitre d' showed them to their table. "Nice to see you again, Madame." "Thank you." Nick stopped when he realized they were being led to the exact same table where he had found Natalie and Lacroix that day. He waved the Maitre d' over. "Is there any way we could get another table?" "Sorry sir, all the other tables are occupied. There is nothing I can do." Not only were they eating at the same restaurant, she was wearing the same dress and now they would be sitting at the same table. He looked down at his own clothes and realized he was generally wearing the same thing himself . He would be lucky to get through the evening without triggering her memory. Lacroix had been able to make her forget, but that knowledge was still there somewhere hidden until someone gave her the key to unlock the experience. Nick _really_ hoped he had not given her the key. There would be too much to explain that he really didn't want to talk about and he certainly didn't want to face her knowing the real danger she had been in. He wished he knew how she would react. If there was something he had learned about women in all his years, it was that the only sure thing about women was there was no sure thing. The Maitre d' pulled out the chair for Natalie and she was seated in the chair she had been seated in, facing the same direction. "Your waiter will be with you in a few minutes. Would you like something to drink while you wait?" Natalie turned to Nick, "How about some champagne? We really do have something to celebrate, don't we?" "No." His answer was abrupt. "I mean, yes we do have something to celebrate, but not with champagne. How about wine? Yes, wine would be better. I don't like the idea of bubbles in my nose." "What? You've never had champagne before, have you?" "I watch TV." "Okay, that will fine." Natalie puzzled what he had said. Why would Nick avoid champagne? "A good wine, whatever you recommend." He looked to Natalie for her approval, which she gave. "I hear the food here is exquisite," Natalie commented while they waited for the wine. Nick sat opposite her, nervously fidgeting with the silverware, with the tablecloth, and with his water glass. Finally, he overturned the waterglass and immediately sprang out of his chair and started mopping up the water with his napkin. Natalie sat calmly watching the whole spectacle. Suddenly, as she looked across the table, she could see a rather distinguished looking gentlemen standing to greet her. She could hear him say, "I'm certain Nicholas has spoken of me at some point or other... Lucien Lacroix." Nick sensed her heart rate quicken. He looked at her face and saw a faraway look in her eyes. Natalie blinked and shook her head. Her eyes lit upon the concerned look on Nicholas' face. "What did you see?" He had to know if her memory was coming back. If it was, they had to get her out of the restaurant right away. "I saw a tall, older man with a crew cut right where you are." "I don't think this night is working out at all like I planned. Nat, I'm sorry, I just can't relax and enjoy myself. If you don't mind..." "I think you're right. We should leave before this night gets any worse than it already is." Nick turned to go around the table just as a waiter walked by with a large platter of food. The two collided and Nick went sprawling along with the waiter while food went flying everywhere. There was a loud clatter of noise followed by a scream from a woman at the next table as a glop of something landed on her chest and dripped down her cleavage. Natalie squeezed her eyes shut and covered her face with a hand. "Too late, " she stated matter-of-factly. "And I was afraid I was going to embarrass you." She looked down at Nick who was struggling to his feet and got a vision of him being knocked across the room. Nick caught the look of horror on Natalie's face. He turned to the server who was also struggling to his feet. "I think we need our check." "That would be an excellent idea," the waiter said as he attempted to wipe the food from his suit. He made a gesture to an approaching staff member who scurried off about some business. "He will help you." Nick surveyed the mess, then scowled. He waded out of the broken dishes and food, over to Natalie. "I haven't done this in a long time." She looked at him, puzzled. "It was before I was brought across," he whispered. "Had a little too much to drink." The other diners, who had fallen silent as they watched the events unfold were now turning back to companions, conversations and eating. Nick paid the tab which included cleaning of the waiter's suit, the lady's dress, and the spilled dinners and they left the restaurant. end part 10 Robbi Knightie With Dark Tendencies Long Live the Knight egersdor@magiclink.com The Power in the Blood Part 11 By Robbi Egersdorf c 1996 Nick and Natalie stood outside of Azure, waiting for the caddy to be brought around. Natalie studied Nick's face carefully for any clues as to the strange turn of events that had transpired that evening. She reached up and wiped a spot of sauce from his neck and licked her finger. "Mmm, this is good. This is damn good. Those people aren't going to appreciate waiting longer for their food." She started laughing and he followed suit. "Oh, my . The look on your face!" The intensity of the laughter increased and Natalie bent over, she was laughing so hard. Nick caught his breath. "And that poor woman!" They cackled with even more intensity, if that was possible. "And that waiter... " They howled some more at the thought of their embarrassment. When the valet finally arrived with the caddy, they had calmed down considerably. "I'll take those," Natalie grabbed the keys from Nick. "I would rather not ride with you like this, you can't even walk." Nick chuckled as he walked around to the passenger side and got in, content to let Natalie drive. There still remained that nagging thought in the back of his mind. What else had she seen as she looked at him getting up from the floor? They drove to Natalie's apartment in silence, each consumed by their own thoughts. Natalie mostly by Nick's strange behavior and the weird, disjointed memories that had assailed her. After parking and turning off the engine, Natalie turned to Nick. "What the _hell_ happened tonight, Nick? Talk to me." Nick became somber. Staring out the front window of the caddy, he began. "I made a mistake. I never should have taken you back to Azure." He turned to see Natalie watching him. "What did you remember when you saw me on the floor?" Natalie looked down at her hands. "I saw Lacroix slap you and send you across the room." She looked to Nick. "I have a right to know. What happened on Valentine's Day?" "Can we talk inside?" "You're not getting out of this." Nick held up his hands. "I promise, I'll explain what I can." "All right." They entered her apartment and she turned on the lights. Sydney was immediately brushing up against her legs, meowing for attention. She reached down and picked up the gray and white cat and absently rubbed his head. "I need a drink, do you want anything?" "I better not." "Do you want me to fix you a protein shake? I'll bet you didn't eat anything tonight, did you?" "I better wait until I get home." "Right." Natalie had forgotten the one little quirk. Nick had been hiding it so well from her. She supposed that was a necessity, considering the nature of the reaction. Nick wandered around the room looking, but not seeing anything. As he was lost deep in thought. What could he tell her? He couldn't lie to her. He had to tell her something. Nick was hit by the thought that he should stay clear of anyone of the female gender. It seemed that no matter what, he didn't think clearly around them all the time and it always meant trouble. "You think I'd learn," he said aloud to no one in particular. "You think you'd learn what?" Nick spun around to see Natalie seating herself on the couch. Nick shook his head. "Oh, I was just talking to myself." "Okay." She patted the sofa next to her and Nick sat down beside her. She downed the shot of scotch she had poured for herself and shuddered as it burned on the way a path of fire to her stomach. Placing the glass on the coffee table, she turned to Nick. "I'm listening. What is it you haven't told me? And why don't I remember?" Nick hesitated, then started slowly, "Lacroix, the man with the crew cut, was there with us at Azure that night." This would be tricky. He would have to tell her enough to satisfy her curiousity, but not enough to give away what really happened. "I remember that. Go on." "We got into a fight over you. He has always worked to ruin everything when he sees I'm getting involved with someone." "Are we getting involved?" Nick reached up and caressed her cheek. "If I were to... come back across.. . Oh God, this is so hard to say." He took a deep breath and continued, "If we were to find a cure, I would want you to be... " No, he couldn't say it. To say it would be a curse to the future. As long as the thought remained unspoken, it could live on, untainted by reality. "What am I talking about? We don't even know if this is going to work." He left the couch and went to stand in front of her fireplace. He leaned on it with one hand while facing away from Natalie. He felt her hand on his arm and turned to face her. "You're so beautiful. I thought you were beautiful the day I met you. " He toyed with her hair as he thought about that night when he had awoke from the dead laying on a cold, hard stainless steel autopsy table. Nick had jumped up off the table and found a bag of blood which feed on as he watched her. She had stood there, stunned, watching him. She smiled at his words. They made her feel good. "You changed the subject on me, again. You and Lacroix were fighting? What happened then?" "For some reason, he backed down. I haven't been able to figure that one out, yet. He had a sharp stick." He laughed, "I don't know what I would have done if he hadn't left when he did." He recalled fangs so near Natalie's life pulse. The thought both repulsed and excited him at the same time. "So why don't I remember any of this? I get the distinct impression it wasn't the wine and you couldn't... " Nick shook his head. "Then Lacroix...?" He nodded. "How... " "I don't know. If I knew the answer to that, we wouldn't be having this conversation right now, would we?" "I'm glad you don't," her voice was a barely audible whisper. Her rich brown eyes seemed to shimmer as she gazed into his deep blues. Both were caught up in the moment. He pulled her gently to him and pressed his lips to hers. "So am I." And he kissed her again. He pulled out of the kiss fully aware of the strong desires he had been storing away lately. They had not gone anywhere, they were just laying in wait to be fanned into a flame that would consume the both of them. "I better go," he whispered, his voice thick with desire. He kissed her quickly, "Or I might do something we will both regret." He turned to leave and Natalie pulled him back by the lapel of his jacket. "You're feeling something, aren't you? I mean feeling some changes?" Of course she had been monitoring the physical signs of his transformations, but had no idea what was going on inside the man. He smiled at her. "I have to go." She let him go this time, unimpeded. Natalie stood there watching him walk out the door, the whole while wishing he would stay, could stay. She bit her lip to keep from calling him back all the while knowing there was something he wasn't telling her. end part 11 Robbi Knightie With Dark Tendencies Long Live the Knight egersdor@magiclink.com The Power in the Blood Part 12 By Robbi Egersdorf c 1996 Nick got off the lift and walked over to the fridge. He had a strong desire to feed on blood right then and it wasn't for cow. He opened the fridge, knowing there would be none of what he wanted. He pulled out the jar of protein shake Natalie had made up for him and took a long drink without stopping. Nick hoped it would mute the hollowness within him that characterized his hunger. It did help some, just not enough. He had to find something to get his mind off the hunger. Nick sat down at the piano and plinked for a few minutes. Seeing that his mind wouldn't focus on the playing, he moved on to another diversion after downing more of Natalie's miracle mix. He went up onto the roof of his building and sat looking out over the city of Toronto. There was a lot of activity in the city still, but he didn't sense it like he had before. Slowly, by small degrees, his sensitive hearing was fading and he hadn't once tried flight since starting on this regimen. Yes, Natalie had been right, he was feeling the change happening. The vampire inside seemed to grow more distant daily. He just wanted to be sure about it before sharing it with her. It might be all in his imagination, wishful thinking. He turned his thoughts back to the world around him and concentrated on the sounds of the city. It all seemed so "lifeless". He had felt the loneliness before as the sounds of life went on around him, without him; now , the loneliness felt so much more stifling in the growing silence of his world. It was something akin to becoming deaf to a world you know intimately. To someone used to sampling the range of sound that he was used to, it was devastatingly isolating. Even in the solitude and silence of the wilderness, the silence still contained the beat of life. The isolation of nature was nothing to compare with the experience he was now facing as he slowly slipped from immortality. With the beat fading, it almost felt to his senses as if death were coming upon him, but his conscious mind knew better. There were many strange stirrings inside his body. He knew his heart rate was up to around once or twice a minute. He had lain awake during the day just waiting and listening for its comforting lub-dub. These were times when the loneliness was deepest and he felt a strong need to have someone close to share his life with. He now wanted a relationship akin to the one he had had with Janette, but different. He not only wanted, but needed to share his life with a mortal woman in a mortal world in the only way a mortal man could. Inevitably, his mind wandered back to Catherine and the ocean voyage they shared once, very long ago. * * * 1888, Aboard a steamship, heading from London to America. He pulled back from their kiss to look into her eyes, she spoke, her voice husky with desire, "Make love to me, Nicholas deBrabant." She moved to kiss him and he barred her way. His expression had become hard, all traces of the gentle man had disappeared . How could he explain to her that making love with him would not be the healing experience her soul needed nor the one he longed to give her? How could he make her understand that he desired nothing more than to make her forget that horrible experience and replace it with the light of his love, but he could not? His love could only bring darkness and death. Nicholas did not save Catherine from the sea just to drain the life from her. No, she deserved so much more. She deserved a long and happy life. "I'm sorry... " He wanted to say more, but the words would not come. He got up from the bed and went to the door. This time when he looked back to her, the pain showed on his face. "I'm sorry." She did not watch Nicholas go, just heard the door open and close behind him . He entered his own room and stood with his back against the door and his eyes closed. Why did he have to be a vampire? Why couldn't he just be able to give her what she wanted? Any human male could have done it, but not him . He was no longer human and subject to an entirely different set of rules. * * * Present day: The sun would be coming up soon and he decided to seek the shelter of the loft. The idea struck him that he should see just how much of the sun's rays he could tolerate now, but decided that could wait for a time. He wanted to experience his first sunrise with Natalie. He wanted to share that triumph with her because it had been her that had made it all possible. That day, as he slept, he was once again plagued by the nightmares of Valentine's Day, the achingly beautiful face of Catherine Sedgewood, and the thought of making mortal love to a woman named Natalie Lambert. end part 12 Robbi Knightie With Dark Tendencies Long Live the Knight egersdor@magiclink.com The Power in the Blood Part 13 By Robbi Egersdorf c 1996 "Nice of you to join the living, partner." Schanke greeted Knight just arriving for his shift. Schank was exiting Cohen's office. "Seems today, there was an attempt made on Megan Osborne's life. We have her in protective custody as we speak." Nick looked at Schanke. He wasn't all that surprised by the revelation. "You were right this time. Maybe she isn't our killer, but she knew more than she's saying, like the identity of The Hillcrest Motel Murderer." "And we need to talk to her. I've got a few questions that need answering." "You read my mind, buddy." * * * Nick flashed his badge for the officer who was guarding Ms. Osborne's hospital room. She was at Scarborough General, recovering from her beating injuries. "We have a few questions we need to ask regarding another case." The officer took their names, wrote them in his logbook and allowed them entrance to Megan Osborne's room. When the duo saw her, they both stopped and looked at each other. Someone had really done a number on this lady. She had a cut and swollen lip, black eyes and various contusions and bruises about the head and shoulders. Her nose was taped and her right arm was in a cast. When she saw the detectives enter her room, she turned her head away in shame. It was as if she felt her injuries were because of some evil she had committed. "Megan, we need to ask a few more questions about the car you reported in the lake." "I remember you." She continued to stare out the window. Her voice had a swollen, packed sound to it. "I told you before, I don't know anything more ." "She has taken the lives of at least three people and today she was going to do the same to you." Nick stepped up to the bed. "Why are you protecting your sister?" Megan turned back to see the kind face of an officer of the law. She saw something in his face that told her he understood the depth of suffering she had endured. There were tears streaming down her cheeks. "I did the best I could to raise her after our parents died. She deserved better than I gave her. She's a really smart girl, graduated a year ahead of her class. She even won a scholarship to the University. She was so smart. I was never that smart." "What happened?" Nick was gentle with his tone of voice as he asked the questions that would lay the shames of this woman's family out to public display. Megan turned away from the officer who kept his hand on her shoulder. There was warmth and caring in this man's touch and she drew comfort and strength from it. "She fell into the wrong crowd, got pregnant and dropped out of school. She moved in with a bunch in the tenement housing. It was there her baby lived his short little life. He was the sweetest... " She choked with her grief and the tears started anew. "I did what I could... " "How did the baby die?" "It's not what you think." She was quite adamant. "She loved that little boy. Brenda would never hurt him. It was those other's who lived with them ." Megan's eyes flashed with anger. "Those animals got what they deserved. " Schanke, who had been watching, stepped forward and asked, "And what was that, Ms. Osborne?" She looked at him, startled, realizing what she had insinuated. Megan turned away from the detectives and ignored the question. Just then an older, heavyset nurse scurried into the room. "You gentlemen are going to have to leave. Ms. Osborne needs her rest." Nick and Schanke stood and watched the nurse go over to Megan's bed and start fluffing her pillow and straightening her linen. She stopped and turned back to the detectives. "What are you waiting for?" She had one of those brisk, sergeant-type voices that could intimidate anyone and Nick and Schanke were definitely intimidated. "Come on, let's get outta here. We can come back later for answers." Nick led the way out of the room. * * * "How are you two coming on the Hillcrest Motel case?" Amanda Cohen had just come out of her office to witness Nick and Schank returning to their desks. "We're pretty sure that it was Megan Osborne's sister, Brenda, who did the killing. She's probably the one who assaulted Megan as well." Nick settled into his chair. Captain Cohen placed the folder she had been holding onto Schanke's desk. "The crime scene report from the attack. It confirms the killer was also Megan's attacker. We matched the fingerprints with those from the Hillcrest Motel and from the car they fished out of the lake." She tied the sash on her coat. "Good work, guys. I've had a long day and I'm going home to soak my feet." "Good night, Captain," Nick said. "G'night, Cap," Don looked up from the report to see his captain leaving then back to Nick. "Okay, now that we know who-dun-it, how we gonna collar her?" "There's a few more things we need to find out, first." Nick followed in Cohen's tracks. "Nick, where are you going?" Schank shouted across the squad room. "Great! I get stuck with the paperwork while he gets all the glamour, again," he said to himself, then he started pulling out the proper forms and proceeded to get started on the mountain of paperwork that faced him. Nick got the address where Brenda Osborne had been living when her son died from the hospital records of the baby's death that were contained in the official investigation record. Megan had called it "the tenements". Nick drove up to the address and found it to be a rundown housing project. Nick went to the building marked "office" and knocked. The light was on, so he felt confident there would be someone up and ready to answer the door. An obese man with two days' growth beard and a smelly cigar sticking out between his teeth opened the door. He wore a dirty white t-shirt and a pair of jeans which his belly hung over. "What do you want?" he asked in a gruff angry tone. Nick pulled out his badge and flashed it at the man. "Detective Knight of Metro Homicide. I need to ask a few questions about some renters that you had back in '93." "What's this about?" "We have reason to believe someone's life may depend on us finding them. Can I come in?" Nick started for the door, but was blocked by the man's large arm barring his way. Nick tried to focus on the sound of the man's heartbeat. He could faintly hear its labored beat in the man's chest. Nick fixed the man's eyes, trying mesmerism. "Let me in." "I don't care if you're Mother Teresa, you don't get in unless you have a warrant." He was losing it. There was no flow that came with an attempt to hypnotize a mortal. It was gone or greatly weakened. "I'll be back." He turned and went back to the caddy, frustrated. He had a sneaking suspicion that the three people that had been killed in Hillcrest Motel, were living with Brenda Osborne in '93. There was also a strong possibility at least one more of them were alive, if not more. These were the people Brenda blamed for her baby's death and she wouldn't stop until they were all dead. Nick needed to find them before Brenda Osborne could get to them and now he had to wait for a telephone warrant to get at the records. end part 13 Robbi Knightie With Dark Tendencies Long Live the Knight egersdor@magiclink.com The Power in the Blood Part 14 By Robbi Egersdorf c 1996 There was one more possible source to obtain the information he needed. It hadn't occurred to Nick earlier, but the reports and background information gathered in 1993 could conceivably reflect the names of Brenda's roommates. "Why didn't I think of it before?" He chided himself aloud as he put the caddy in gear and pulled away from the curb. He had been overly distracted lately, especially after the fiasco of two nights ago. Natalie, thankfully, hadn't remembered any more of her Valentine's Day dinner with Lacroix and she had been satisfied with his answers to her questions about that night. Still, he worried about it. Nick wished there was some way to reinforce her forgetting, to assure no more memories would surface in the future. He was helpless to even do what he had previously been empowered to do in that respect. There was no way to do it without going to his master for help. That was not an option at this time. Lacroix would not be his master for very much longer, if things kept going as they had been. It was all slipping away and he was becoming mortal again . That was what he had wanted, wasn't it? Of course he wanted mortality. He wanted his mortality and redemption more than he wanted life itself. Oh, he had to admit there were a lot of advantages to being a vampire -- the acute night vision, the sensitive hearing and smell, the ability to hypnotize, the superhuman strength and speed, the near invulnerability to injury, an immunity to disease and aging, and the ability to will oneself into flight. These were all desirable traits, but came at too high a price. He could not continue to pay the price of living in darkness, of drinking blood, or of being denied his love, never to have a family. He would gladly give up the positive aspects of his vampirehood to be rid of the negatives. He stopped the caddy, put it in park, and turned off the engine. It was then that Nick realized he had driven to where he could sit and think in the fresh salt air of Lake Ontario. He got out of the car and started walking along the shore with his hands in his pockets and the breeze whipping through his sandy blonde hair. All thoughts of the urgency he had felt earlier in reference to the case, were forgotten. He picked up a flat rock from the gravel at his feet and threw it in a way that it skipped several times along the surface of the water before sinking out of sight. He felt like that stone, tired of skipping along the surface of life in fear and now anxious to immerse himself in the rich diversities and pleasures of mortality. Now that the vampire was leaving, the fear was going with it. Could he dare think he would be brave enough to sink into a life of normalcy with Natalie? He sat down on his heels. looking out over the lake and tossing stones into the water. "You may believe that you are slowly slipping through my fingers . You are mistaken. The more you are convinced of your 'freedom', the tighter my grip will become." Lacroix's words resounded in his mind. He grabbed up a handful of pebbles and, after standing, pelted the lake with them. "He'll never let me be happy. Never." He brushed the dust from his hands, turned away from the water and walked back to the caddy. Nick sat on the hood of his car and stared into the darkness, a darkness that was so much more encompassing than it had ever been before. It was strange that on the eve of his transformation, the darkness he had lived with for so long would turn its back on him as well. Why couldn't he have been more accepting of who he was? He had endured all those wasted years of pain and regret; all those years of dealing with the hopes and desires of a mortal man while trapped in an immortal body. Now, by the grace of God or whatever power that watched over the Universe, those times would be behind him. The silence of the night was split by the chirping of his cellular phone. "Knight." "Nick, where have you been? We've been trying to contact you by radio." Schanke's voice came over the telephone. Nick walked around the car and saw he had forgotten to turn on his police radio. "Sorry Schanke, I just forgot to turn it on." "You're gonna love this. We got a call a few minutes ago. They found another woman bound, gagged, and shot in the back of the head just like the others. Get this, she was one of the tenants that lived with Brenda Osborne when her son died." Schanke had already had the presence of mind to check the records. He had always been the part of the team that was good at sifting through records and finding information when it was needed. Nick felt the sharp dagger of regret knife through him at the pronouncement of the murder. Instead of being preoccupied with himself, he should have been out looking for this woman. He had missed the chance of saving this woman's life while being self-absorbed. "Okay... Schanke, are there any other names on the list that haven't been murdered?" There was a pause as Schanke looked through the papers on his desk. "Yeah, there's a Stephanie Martin and a Zachary Clarkston." "I'm willing to bet money that Stephanie Martin is our Jane Doe. Let Natalie know and see if you can locate this Zachary Clarkston. He'll be the next victim. He needs to be in protective custody until we can get Brenda Osborne safely behind bars. I've gotta go." "Wait Nick. Where are you going? Nick?" Schanke was answered by the dial tone engaging after Nick hung up on him. He pulled the receiver from his ear and looked at it, thoroughly disgusted. "He's done it to me again." Hanging up the phone, he grabbed Officer Lapinsky who was just walking by. Quickly Schanke scribbled the information on a sheet of paper and handed it to the officer. "Lapinsky, do me a favor, find this man for me. I've got to go conduct a murder scene investigation.. . by myself." He threw on his coat and was out the door. end part 14 Robbi Knightie With Dark Tendencies Long Live the Knight egersdor@magiclink.com The Power in the Blood Part 15 By Robbi Egersdorf c 1996 Nick pushed the off button on his cellular phone, hanging up on his partner. He looked to the sky. If this had been a few weeks ago, he would be flying to the hospital to see Megan Osborne as he normally did when he was in a hurry. He thought better of it. It wouldn't be a good thing for him to take off flying and end up in a freefall halfway there, or worse yet, not even get off the ground in the first place. He was used to failure when trying to hypnotize a mortal, but he was not ready to face losing his flight , yet. Nick's ability to fly was nothing special to him, he just did it. It was like breathing air or walking, what he had come to know as "normal". He got into the caddy and drove to Scarborough General. He had a difficult time getting the nurses to let him see one of their patients at such a late hour. He had to impress upon them the urgency of the situation. Megan smiled to see Detective Knight enter the room. She could still remember the caring and understanding attitude he showed her the last time he was there to see her. "How are you, Megan?" Nick went over to her bed and sat on the edge as she had beckoned him to do. She held out a hand to him and he took it in his. "I'll be all right. I'm getting help, you know." He smiled. "That's wonderful, Megan. Now we need to get help for Brenda. She needs our help desperately right now. You want to help your sister, don't you?" Megan nodded. "We need to know where to find her before we can help her. Can you help me find her?" "She told me not to tell, just like she told me not to tell about the car." "But you told anyway." Nick reached up and stroked her cheek. "Because you knew it would hurt Brenda not to tell. You knew, didn't you?" Megan nodded again. "Brenda will forgive you when she learns it was for her own good that you told me where she was." "She said she would hurt me again. She said she would kill me. I don't want to die, Detective Knight." "I won't let her hurt you. I won't let anyone hurt you anymore." Megan was content with that and smiled. "She went back to live at the tenements. I told her not to go there. She could stay with me. I would take care of her again." Nick stood from her bed. "Oh, please don't go." "I need to go help Brenda now. You need to get your rest so you can get better and go home. I promise I'll come back to visit you." Nick leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead. She smiled up at him. "Thank you, Megan. Brenda should be proud to have a sister like you. Now, go to sleep." She snuggled under her covers and Nick straightened her blankets then turned to leave. "Good night, Detective Knight." "Good night, Megan." Nick walked out the door. Looks like he was going to need one of those warrants for the housing project after all. He used his cellular phone to make arrangements to have the warrant waiting for him to pick up at the station before heading out to the projects. * * * This time the murder had occurred in a residential area. Schanke wasn't surprised to see a broken mirror in the entrance hall upon entering the house. Natalie looked up from the body as it lay on the couch. The TV was playing some old black and white film. "Where's Nick?" "I was able to reach him on the blower. The last thing he said to me was, "I gotta go." How do ya like that? I think he had a lead on Brenda Osborne's whereabouts. It was just too much of a hassle to treat me like I was, I don't know, his partner or something." Natalie had learned from experience, the best thing to do was just listen; so that was what she did as Schanke went on about how badly Nick treated him as a partner. She knew underneath it all, Schanke liked and even admired Nick. Nick had a bad habit of ignoring some of the protocols Schanke had been taught were necessary for survival on the streets. That kind of behavior puzzled and maybe frightened Schanke a little. She didn't blame him for being worried about Nick when he went off by himself like he often did. If she didn't know him so well, she would be worried as well. She was going to have to sit down and have a little talk with Nick before he became mortal and vulnerable. He would have to start getting used to everything that being mortal meant, like a bullet can mean injury or death, not just some minor annoyance. "Oh, Nick wanted me to tell you he had a possible ID on the Jane Doe from the Hillcrest Motel. He believes she was one Stephanie Martin." "Just a minute." Natalie pulled out a sheet from her bag and put it on her clipboard in front of the report she had been working on. "Stephanie Martin . Thanks, Schanke." She turned away from the detective and returned to examining the body. Schanke wandered around the house looking for any possible evidence with his hands in his pockets. There was less of a chance of him spoiling the crime scene that way. * * * Across town Nick arrived at the housing project and waved the warrant under the nose of the man who had refused to help him earlier. This time he was more than helpful. Nick was able to locate the apartment where Brenda lived and the key to gain entrance. After finding out that he was in the right place and before approaching the apartment, he called for back-up. Nick walked up to the door and drew his gun in anticipation of trouble. Knocking on the door, he yelled, "Police, open up." There was no response to his greeting and without his sensitive hearing, he couldn't tell if there was anyone in the house. Nick was about to unlock the door and enter when a thought crossed his mind. What if he was vulnerable to a gunshot? What if he could be as easily killed as a mortal? These were questions that he had no answer to and no way to find out the answer. It would probably have been prudent not to enter until back-up arrived, but Nick had never been known for his prudence. He made a mental note that he would have to take more care for his safety now that he was becoming vulnerable and then he entered the house. end part 15 Robbi Knightie With Dark Tendencies Long Live the Knight egersdor@magiclink.com The Power in the Blood Part 16 By Robbi Egersdorf c 1996 Nick approached the house where Brenda Osborne had been living. No lights were visible through the windows. Carefully, quietly he unlocked the door while standing off to the side. He winced at the click the lock made when it released. Turning the knob, he pushed the door open. Withdrawing to safety, he waited for any reactions. The only sound was that of the hinges creaking as the door moved inward. After the door stopped, there was only dead silence. Taking his flashlight in one hand and his gun in the other, he rested his wrists together and entered the door. Slowly, he advanced through the apartment using the safest technique he had learned to secure an area. Upon entering the living area he was greeted by an excess of dirty ashtrays, empty cans and clothes as well as garbage strewn about the room. There was no one in this room so he advanced into the kitchen/dining room area. Here, he could see where the disagreeable odor that had hit him at the front door had come from. His flashlight startled several rats who were eating out of dirty pans and dishes with partial meals still in them. Their squeals of surprise startled Nick. The trash can in the corner of the kitchen was full and overflowing. A shiver went through him. Silently, he moved, listening all the while for tell-tale sounds of any kind. He didn't pick up anything with his near human hearing. There was no one in this area, nor was he able to discern any recent signs of occupation. He advanced down the hall to the first door and looked in the bathroom. Dirty clothes and garbage were piled against the walls and on the floor. There was no one there either, and no one in the shower behind the curtain. Nick stepped back out into the hall and listened. He wished he could hear as well as he was accustomed to. From now on, he would have to learn to do with what was humanly possible. The next room was a bedroom. Here he found more piles of dirty clothes as well as dressers with the drawers open and clothes hanging out. He checked in the closet, under the bed and behind the curtain, no one. There was only one more room, the bedroom at the end of the hall. He walked back out into the hall. The perspiration was beading on Knight's forehead and he wiped it with the sleeve of his jacket as it had started to drip down into his eyes. As he slowly took steps towards the back bedroom, the floor creaked in protest. Nick hesitated to listen again. He still heard nothing, but silence. He entered the bedroom and as he began surveying it, he heard footsteps in the hall. Spinning around, he was hit with a blinding beam. Someone turned on the lights in the house and Nick could see he was facing a uniformed officer with his gun trained on him. He let out his breath which he had been holding and pointed his gun up at the ceiling. The officer recognized him and lowered his gun. "There are officers securing the area outside, Detective." "Thanks, Simmons," Nick replied. Two other officers had pushed past Nick and were going through the room behind him. Everyone came up empty-handed. When he was finished, Nick obtained the location of the murder scene from dispatch. He arrived after Natalie had finished and was loading her equipment to leave. "Hi, Nat." "Hello, yourself." The medical examiner stood with her hand on her car door . "Schank's awfully put out with you, taking off after the killer on your own. I have to say I'm a little put out myself, Nick. What good will it do us to succeed in regaining your mortality, if you just run out right away and get yourself killed? I mean... " Nick held up his hands in surrender. "I've been thinking about that very thing, myself." He leaned over and gave her a peck on the cheek. "I'll try to be more careful. See you later?" Natalie nodded, then shook her head. She pulled her car door open. "Oh, I need another supply of your liquid gold. I'm all out." She smiled, then got in her car. Watching him, she saw him pass the guard at the entrance to the crime scene, then disappear inside the house. If he only knew what she had been doing to him... if he only knew, her little plan wouldn't be working as well as it had been. He had progressed to the point where Natalie was putting almost no blood powder into the protein shakes and Nick had been tolerating them excellently. She decided right then that the next batch she made would have no blood in it. That would be the real test. Schanke looked around just as Nick entered the house. "The great Nicholas Knight took pity on poor little ole me and decided to show up to work. Too bad the work's all done." He walked past Nick and out the door. "Schanke, wait up," Nick called after him and followed. His partner just kept on going, heading for his own car. "Look Schank, if it's the paperwork, I'll do it. I'm sorry." Schanke reached his car and spun around to meet Nick who was right on his tail. "You don't get it, do you? And Myra says I'm dense." "No, Schanke, I don't get it. Explain it to me." "You should look the word 'partner' up in the dictionary. You don't act like you know the meaning of the word. Partners stick together, look out for each other. You never give me the chance." Schanke brought up a finger and pointed it at Nick's chest. "One of these days, you're gonna run off and get yourself killed. Don't expect me to cry for you." Nick stood there, stunned. Don shook his head with a disgusted, angry look on his face. He turned his back on his partner. Getting into the car, Schanke left Nick staring at his taillights as they disappeared into the night. "I didn't realize he cared so much," Nick pronounced aloud to the night sky then headed for the caddy and to the precinct. When Nick arrived back at the station, he walked in to find Schanke at the coffee machine in animated conversation with one of the vice detectives. He stopped talking abruptly when he saw Nick approach. "I'll talk to you later ," was all that Nick caught of the exchange. Schank moved off to his desk with his full coffee cup. Nick caught up with him as Schank was pulling his chair out from the desk. "Did you ever find Zachary Clarkston?" Schanke turned to face Nick. "How many places do you think I can be at one time? Go ask Lapinsky." Then Don turned back to his desk, pulled out the forms he needed and started filling them out; summarily dismissing Nick without another word. Nick opened his mouth to speak, but thought better. He wanted to ask, "Did you want me to pass up a chance to nail the killer?" He wanted to ask, "How can I make it up to you?" but he knew with experience that Schanke wouldn't talk until he had a chance to work off his anger and frustrations. Nick longed for a time when he had been without a partner. He never had to worry about getting someone else hurt or killed. He didn't have to worry about how someone else would feel or how they would want to do things, he just did what he felt necessary for the situation. Nick had been extremely against having a partner in the beginning. Stonetree had given him no choice, but to take a partner. After Stonetree's announcement, Nick had followed his captain to his office and was greeted there by his new partner, Donald Schanke with his famous, "Howdy partner." Nick could remember asking, "Would somebody shoot me, please?" Nick smiled to himself as he looked around the squad room for Lapinsky. Actually, if he was honest with himself, it hadn't been nearly as bad as he had first imagined. Working with a partner was just a little more confining . Through the time he had spent with Donald Schanke, Nick had grown to respect and care about him as a partner and a friend. Nick really did care about how Schanke felt and what he thought. Sometimes it didn't show, sometimes Schanke got the wrong messages from Nick's behavior. All things considered, it had been a good move on Stonetrees part to pair him with Schank. "Lapinsky, did you ever find Zachary Clarkston?" he called to officer Lapinsky who was sitting at the front desk. "Oh yeah, Detective Knight. Here's the address." He handed Nick a sheet of paper with the address. "Thanks." Nick turned back to his partner. No use in putting this off any longer. He put on his biggest smile and walked over to his partner. He slapped him on the back and used his best 'everythings okay' voice, "Hey Schanke, you want to come with me to pick up Clarkston?" Slowly, Schanke turned to him. "You mean, you can't do that alone?" "Come on. Are you going to stay mad at me all night? We can pick up some lunch after bringing him back to the station. Anything you want. How about it?" Schanke hesitated again. He didn't want to seem too eager. "All right. Guess you found my price." end part 16 Robbi Knightie With Dark Tendencies Long Live the Knight egersdor@magiclink.com The Power in the Blood Part 17a By Robbi Egersdorf c 1996 Before departing the station, Nick contacted Zachary Clarkston to explain the circumstances. Schank stood by waiting as he listened to Nick's half of the conversation. "Zachary Clarkston?... This is Nick Knight of Metro Homicide. We have been investigating a case where we believe you know the killer and are more than likely the next target... Sit tight and don't answer your door. We're on our way. We want to bring you into protective custody until the suspect is safely behind bars... Brenda Osborne... Zachary, are you still there?... I understand. We'll be over in fifteen minutes or less." Nick hung up the phone and headed for the back door of the precinct. Schanke followed closely. The drive across town was in silence. There was still a tension apparent between them plus something more. It was sort of like a deadness in the air , the deadness that you feel just before some life shattering event occurs. The closer they got to the apartment building, the tighter his stomach became. Nick found himself wondering if Schanke felt it too. There was no indication Brenda would even be there. The gnawing feeling he had had at her apartment, had not gone away, but was becoming more intense. The thought he might be facing a gun for the first time it could take his life, worried at the edges of his mind. He looked at Schanke as Schanke watched the buildings of the city fly by. How did he do it? How did he face the possibility that he might die in the line of duty? Nick was suddenly jealous of his partner, the happiness he had had in his life with a loving wife and child, a job in which he was really making a difference in a lot of peoples' lives. He sure had made a big difference in Nick's life since they had become partners. Schanke had taught him a lot about what mortality really was as well as a lot about himself. They drove up in front of the apartment building and Nick stopped the car. Schank started to get out of the car then realized Nick hadn't moved so he waited. "Schank,... I just wanted to tell you... well, I just wanted you to know how much I appreciate everything you do. I really do notice, even though it doesn't seem like I do." Right that very minute it felt right and good to have his partner there with him. Schanke kind of shrugged off the compliment. It was a little uncomfortable. He was unused to such show of feelings from his partner. "Come on, Nick. Don't get soft on me now, partner. We got a job to do, now let's get to it. " "Are you expecting trouble, Knight? You haven't exactly kept me up to speed on this," Schanke asked, his hand on the front door to the apartment building. After having a few minutes to let Nick's behavior sink in, he was becomeing increasingly suspicious. Nick just raised his eyebrows and Schank understood. They both checked their guns before entering. Zachary's apartment was on the sixth floor. They rode the elevator up. The building looked like it had been posh 30-40 years ago, but now it was obvious it had seen its better days. Oh, it was clean and freshly painted, glossing over the deeper defects of age until it would eventually be condemned. They reached the door, apartment #613. Schanke reached to knock and Nick grabbed his arm. They looked at each other. "If I have to be here, I'm glad it's you backing me up. I just wanted you to know." Nick's behavior just hit Schanke as very strange. What was going on? His partner had been one of the most private persons he had ever met. Even though they had spent a lot of time together in that old beater of his, driving the streets of Toronto, did he really know who Nick Knight was? Schanke liked to think he knew this man, but there were times when strange things would happen around him, things that he had found hard pressed to explain. There were times when Nick had an uncanny intuition, maybe he knew something about tonight. Schanke raised his hand to the door, then stopped. "You know something, don't you, something you're not telling me? I have a right to know." "Just a feeling, nothing more." Nick strained to hear, but there was nothing he could tell. Nick nodded his head towards the door and Schanke finally knocked. There was no answer, only a mutual nod of agreement as they moved away from the door just in time to avoid several rounds that tore through the door. Their guns were out of their holsters and in their hands in an instant. "You knew about this, Knight, didn't you?" "You're not going to get him until he's dead," a woman's voice screamed at them. "Brenda, don't do it," a man's voice, tense with fear, came from inside the apartment. "I loved Devon just as much as you did. It wasn't my fault." The officers knew from experience, as hysterical as this woman sounded, it may not be possible to reason with her, but they had to try. "Brenda, killing Zachary won't bring your baby back," Nick called through the door. He kept his voice calm and even, ignoring the racing of his heart. It was a very strange sensation to have something fluttering in his chest, a sensation he hadn't experienced in nearly 800 years. It wouldn't be considered racing for a human at two to three beats per minute, but it was to this vampire accustomed to a heart beating of once every ten to twelve minutes. The woman shot at the door again then screamed back at the detectives, "Maybe not, but it will make me feel a whole lot better." She let out an insane peal of laughter. "Did killing Danny, Gregory, John, and Stephanie make you feel any better, Brenda?" "They killed my baby. They deserve to die." The words carried a great burden of anger with them. * * * 1888, Aboard a steamship, heading from London to America. Nicholas had sat in his room, staring at the wall. How much time had passed since leaving Catherine? She had begged him to make love to her, to give her some warmth and caring but he had left her without an explanation. How much time had passed he could not tell, only that the sun would soon set. He had listened to her crying in the other room, focusing his mind on thought of her torment. Instead of giving her some comfort and solace from the nightmare of guilt she lived, he had tormented and rejected her tender young heart. It felt as if he had broken his own heart. After a time, the sobbing had stopped and his focus turned inside himself to his own guilt and betrayal of the human race. The faces and virtues of the many young maidens he had taken to satisfy his hunger for blood showed themselves in his memory. The blondes, the brunettes, the redheads, the French, the German, he had drawn on their hopes and dreams, their joys and fears. In the end, he had taken their very lives, leaving them to moulder to dust while he continued to live and experience life. At the point where he knew the sun was below the horizon enough for him to venture forth, he got up from the bed and started for the door. He threw his attention on the room next door, but could not hear any small hint of movement. There wasn't even a heartbeat present in the room. Nick began to worry. He would have heard her leave. He rushed out into the hall and tried Catherine's door. It remained locked. He took hold of the knob and forced it until it gave way. When the door swung open he became witness to a tragic sight. Catherine Sedgewood lay, sprawled out on her blood soaked bed, lifeless. He never should have left her alone. He could do nothing for her now. He had passed up his chance a few short hours ago. Now it was lost to him forever. end part 17a Robbi Knightie With Dark Tendencies Long Live the Knight egersdor@magiclink.com The Power in the Blood Part 17b By Robbi Egersdorf c 1996 Present day: "Did killing them make you feel better?" Nick persisted, only serving to anger Brenda even further. "Shut up! Shut up or I'll kill him now." Her voice became shrill again. "All right, all right. Calm down, Brenda. What do _you_ want to talk about ?" "I want to talk about my baby." "Yes, let's talk about your baby. What was his name?" Nick's voice was beginning to take on a soothing, calming tone. "Devon, his name was Devon and he was only a year and a half old when these crackheads killed him." Her voiced built in intensity and anger as she spoke. "That is a very sad thing, to have a child die." "Yes. Sometimes it hurts so much it feels like someone's tearing my insides out." "Can you open the door so I can see you while we talk?" There was silence for the space of several minutes then a lock clicked and the door swung open. Nick was shocked when he saw the face of the young woman. It was definitely the woman from the partially burned driver's license, a fake with a fake name. He noted a resemblance to the young woman in the graduation picture at Megan's. What disturbed Nicholas most of all was the shape Brenda Osborne was in. He took in her appearance as she stood at the door. Her hair was dirty and matted, her face gaunt, her eyes sunken in her face with dark circles under them. Here stood a woman who had endured the fires of a self-inflicted hell and it wrenched at his heart. Nick gasped at the apparent torment and anguish on the young woman's face. It didn't matter to him in right then that she had cold-bloodedly premeditated and carried out the murders of several people. Had he done any less? Nick's heart did not see the killer in her only the tortured soul that stood before him. "Can I come in?" he asked as he slowly put his gun back into his shoulder holster. She backed away, allowing the door to swing open to reveal the interior of the apartment. He could see Zachary Clarkston tied to a chair in the middle of the living room. Schanke stayed where he was with his gun at the ready, watching every move Brenda made. Nick slowly entered the apartment, riding a wave of adrenaline. His hands were half raised and well within the woman's sight. He was careful not to make any sudden moves that would startle her. In his mind, he worked hard to shut everything outside the room from his consciousness in order to bring all his faculties to focus on this one woman and this one situation. To Nick, there was no vampire, there was no cure, no nothing; only what was in that room. Distractions could prove to be fatal, literally. Brenda kept her gun trained on the homicide detective all the while. "Tell me about Devon, what color was his hair? Was he a happy child?" Nick's questions seemed to pull away some of the layers of suffering she had wrapped herself in since 1993 and the death of her son. The corner of one side of her mouth turned up in a partial smile as she thought about the baby. When she spoke, it was with a much softer voice. "He was a beautiful child with fine, blonde hair. He always had a smile for his mother. When he learned to walk, his little legs couldn't quite keep up with his intentions and he would fall face first." She smiled and started to lower the gun. Nick slowly inched forward towards the woman. "He sounds like a true little angel." "Oh, he was an angel. A sweet, _innocent_ angel." She paused. Her voice became flat and hopeless with her next statement. "And now he's _dead_." The softness fell from her face and eyes leaving behind a coldness that chilled Nick with its intensity. She focused her sight on Nick. All she perceived there was the implied threat of someone who was taking away her prize. This man was not going to let her finish her task. He would have to die. From that point in time, the next few seconds seemed to stretch out, passing as minutes. Brenda raised the gun, pointing it directly at Nicholas' chest and began to scream obscenities at him. He was so stunned by her sudden change of attitude that he stood there, unmoving. Perhaps paralyzed was a more accurate description, as the constraints of time mortals lived by would not allow him to move as quickly as he knew he could. Nick saw her finger contract on the trigger of the gun and felt his leg muscles tense in preparation for flight. Before he could move, he felt something knock him from behind, sending him sprawling on the floor. There rang out two distinct reports, one from behind him and one from in front. He watched as the woman was slammed backwards by the impact of a bullet entering her chest. In slow motion she fell, coming to rest, motionless. A puddle of thick warm blood grew on the hardwood floor beneath her. He lay there and watched in fascination. It was the first time he had ever seen fresh blood and it didn't elicit a response from deep in him. Nick took a mental note of himself. He didn't think he had been hit. He turned to thank his partner and realized, he too lay on the floor, motionless. end part 17b Robbi Knightie With Dark Tendencies Long Live the Knight egersdor@magiclink.com The Power in the Blood Part 18 By Robbi Egersdorf c 1996 The shock of it all was overwhelming. He looked from the woman to his partner. A tightness gripped his chest as he feared the worst. Had Schanke given his life to save his? Nick scrambled across the floor to the still form of his partner to assess his injuries. "You stupid, sorry son of a b****. What did you go and throw yourself in front of a bullet for?" There wasn't an awfully lot of blood around Schanke, but that didn't necessarily mean good news. "I heard that." Schank's voice was weak and breathy. He smiled then groaned, clutching at his left side with his right hand. "I just couldn't let you die before you bought me lunch one more time." Knight's heart leapt with relief and he let out a sigh. Schanke's shirt, where he held himself, was bloody and torn. Tearing open his shirt, Nick could see the bullet had left a deep gash as it had ripped along Schanke's side. "You're gonna be all right, Schank. It only grazed you. This will mean you'll be laid up for at least a few days." "Please don't tell Myra I did it on purpose. She'll think I was trying to get out of cleaning the garage this weekend." He winced as a wave of pain shot through him. Nick laughed to himself at Schanke's last sentence as he dialed for an ambulance then called the precinct to report in. With that little task completed, he looked over to the woman who had almost ended his life. She lay peacefully on the floor, all the worry and bitterness running out of her with her blood, leaving a calm and relaxed, even restful expression on her face. Catherine Sedgewood's words came to him from over a century ago, "Please, sir. I am not worthy to live. Let the sea take my life," her mournful voice echoed into the very corners of his being. "Rest in peace, Brenda, rest in peace." * * * The ambulance attendants had just strapped Schanke to the gurney and pulled it up, locking the legs in place. Captain Amanda Cohen, who had arrived shortly after Nick had made his call, was leaning over her injured officer. "I decide to go home to soak my aching feet and you boys decide to get in trouble. What am I going to do with you?" Her words were of chastisement, but her expression and tone of voice sent the man on the gurney another message. "What can I say, I like to make trouble. You know that." The captain smiled and nodded to the attendants who were standing by. They whisked him out the apartment door as both Cohen and Nick watched. "He saved my life, plain and simple. The bullet he took would have nailed me in the chest." Nick was still numb from the whole incident. Amanda turned to the remaining detective and read the expression on his face . She had seen it on numerous occasions on the faces of individuals who had recently faced death and come through the experience unscathed. "Why don't you take a few days off, finish that vacation of yours that got interrupted when this whole thing started. By the way, great work. Looks like you solved four murders in one fell swoop." Nick nodded in agreement and the captain moved on to monitor the investigative process. Natalie walked up to him after having finished with the examination of the woman's body. "Are you all right?" "I will be." He turned to face the medical examiner. "I haven't told you this, but I got the feeling if that bullet had hit me I would be in one of those bags." He pointed at the black zippered body bag they had placed the body of Brenda Osborne in. "There would be no hopping off your autopsy table this time." Natalie felt his forehead. It was actually warm to her touch. She checked his pulse. It was beating at 6-8 beats per minute. She raised an eyebrow, but made no comment on her findings. "I'll be over to your place this morning after I finish up. You better get going before the sun comes up." Nick attempted to sense the rising sun, but to no avail. Looking at his watch, he could see he had a little more than ten minutes to make it safely home. Did he really need to take the precaution anymore? "Nat... " She knew exactly what his next words were going to be. "No. Absolutely not . You haven't fully made the change. Exposing yourself to the sun might setback us back. I don't want to take the chance with this. I want us to do everything right this time." She held his chin. "Do you hear me?" She emphasized through clenched teeth. "Yes ma'am." "Now, go home." She dropped her hand and let Nick go. Natalie watched him leave to be sure he went then she turned back to finish up her work. When Nick arrived at the loft, he stood at the window watching the sun brighten the city. He was hungry, real hungry for something. He couldn't tell what he was hungry for, he just knew it wasn't for blood. He decided to wait for Natalie to arrive before eating anything. As he stood at the window he let the sun's rays fall on one of his hands, against Natalie's advice. There was some burning sensation. It wasn't the instant smoke and blisters, but more like a quick sunburn. He clicked the remote to close the shutters and decided to lay on the couch to nap while he waited for Natalie to arrive. He lay there with his eyes closed thinking about the events that had just transpired. Schanke... he was really a puzzle. One minute he could be mad at you and the next, he's saving your life. He smiled to himself then turned over and went off to sleep. The thought, "I wonder what Lacroix and Janette are doing," floated through his mind just before he drifted off. end part 18 Robbi Knightie With Dark Tendencies Long Live the Knight egersdor@magiclink.com The Power in the Blood Part 19 By Robbi Egersdorf c 1996 When Natalie arrived, she found Nick sound asleep on the couch. She sat and watched him sleeping for a time. He was so handsome and she relished the opportunity to watch him. Reaching down, she smoothed back his hair as she whispered, "We belong together, Sir Nicholas Knight." He stirred somewhat then settled back to sleep. He looked so peaceful lying there, she hated to wake him, but had no choice. This morning, she would mix a batch of her protein shake without the blood product. She had been looking forward to this for quite some time now. Assembling the ingredients, she measured them out into the blender jar. Before turning the appliance on, she looked back at Nick. When she turned on the blender, Nick jumped off the couch and onto the floor . He sat up and rubbed his eyes. "Wha...?" Opening them, he looked over to the kitchen counter where the noise was coming from. "Oh, you're here. Why didn't you wake me?" "I just did." "You know what I mean." Nick stood and walked up behind Natalie and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Good morning, sweetheart." Nick was standing behind her with his chin over one of her shoulders and his arms around her chest. "What?" "Oh, I've wanted to say that to someone for a long time." She held a hand over the arms that encircled her and closed her eyes as they gently swayed back and forth. "I've always wanted to hear someone say that to me. So how are you doing... about earlier I mean? He took a deep breath and blew it out. "It hasn't sunk in yet. I'm still kind of numb about it." He pecked her again then let her go. "How's Schanke doing? "They cleaned and dressed his wound then sent him home. He was real lucky, you both were." When Nick released her, she set to finishing her task. She pulled a mug out of the cupboard and poured it full of the now milky white concoction. She handed it to Nick then leaned up against the counter, folding her arms in front of her. "Well...?" He was looking at the shake closely, a puzzled look on his face. "Why is it a different color?" Natalie had known he would ask and was prepared with a very logical answer. She could have avoided his question all together by adding a food coloring to the mix, but had opted not to mess with something that was working. Who knows how some other compound could effect Nick. "The health food store ran out of one of the ingredients I use. It's what made it pink. Actually, the only reason I used it was so it would be a more appetizing color. I don't think I need to worry about that anymore, do I? "No. This is fine." He held up the cup. "Salute," and he downed the entire contents. Nick had been very careful for so long, not to drink any of the protein shakes in Natalie's presence. For some reason, maybe the shooting or something else, he had totally forgotten that precaution. Natalie studied him for some reaction, but there was none. Natalie was fully aware of the effect the protein shakes had on Nick, but wanted to be there since there was no blood in this mixture. She was hoping it wouldn't have the aphrodisiac affect the other had. She wasn't exactly sure what of all the ingredients, was the culprit. Regardless, she stayed. There was too much at stake not to be there. When he set down the mug, he was wearing a white "mustache" over his upper lip. Natalie giggled at him, then got a paper towel and wiped his mouth. The smile Nick was wearing fell from his lips as he stared into her sparkling brown eyes. He blinked. "Let's watch a movie," he suggested and headed for his video cabinet. He wanted her badly. Funny thing was, he couldn't be sure if it was him or the drink that brought on the desire. If it ever got that far between them, he wanted the feelings to be coming from his heart. Halfway to the cabinet, the whole world began to spin around him. His knees gave way, then the whole world went black. The smile Natalie wore as she watched Nick cross the floor left quickly as she watched Nick go down. She screamed his name and was at his side in an instant. She tried shaking him. "Nick, Nick, wake up! Nick." He did not respond to her attempts to bring him around. Taking his pulse, she was shocked to find it at 60. She lifted his eyelids to see his pupils were reacting to the change of light. Natalie rushed out to get her medical kit. When she returned he was sitting up on the floor, a little dazed. "What happened?" The doctor knelt down beside him and started to take his blood pressure. She got a 92/40. "I was just walking, then... " His eyes grew distant as he struggled to put into words what he had just went through. "I... felt sort of like... a door closed inside me, like a part of me... is gone, shut off from the rest of me . Oh god, it feels like the vampire left." He then attempted to conjure up the vampire, to make the change. There was nothing there. "It's gone! Natalie, I'm cured. I'm going out in the sun." He looked at her, expecting her to argue. She nodded then helped him to his feet. He was a little light-headed at first. Together they descended the stairs and Nick walked out of the door and into the bright sunlight. There was no immediate effects like the quick sunburn he had received earlier. "We did it!" he shouted. Nick held her up by the waist and twirled her around a couple times. They were both laughing . "Nick, if you're going to stay out in the sun for very long, you need to wear sunscreen. Your skin will be sensitive to the light. It'll take time to build up a tolerance." "Always practical, aren't you? You make the find of the century and you're worried about me getting a sunburn. It is so great to feel the warmth of the sun on my skin again and not have it burst into flames. This is an incredible gift you've given me. I'm forever in your debt, Natalie Lambert. Hey, why don't we have a picnic in the park with fried chicken, potato salad and ants? Well not to eat. You know what I mean." "It's kind of early in the morning for a picnic." "Then, we can go see how Schanke's doing and go shopping for me some new clothes. I don't have anything in my wardrobe that will work for me now. Then we can go on a picnic." Natalie just stood and watched the 800-year-old man jump and dance about like a little kid just getting a new toy. She enjoyed seeing him like this. It was amazing to her and well worth the five years of effort she had poured into the search for a cure. Everything would work out wonderfully now that Nick was mortal again. end part 19 Robbi Knightie With Dark Tendencies Long Live the Knight egersdor@magiclink.com The Power in the Blood Part 20 By Robbi Egersdorf c 1996 Nick and Natalie arrived at Schanke's house. Nick was wanting to see how Myra was holding up. He knew Schanke would tell him he was fine. "Teflon Don" was what he called himself at times like this. "Nothing sticks to Teflon Don." Myra let them in. "Don's asleep right now." "Good, then I can talk to you. Can we come in?" Nick's answer surprised Myra. She stepped aside and let her husband's partner and the medical examiner into her home. "Would you like something, coffee?" "No, we won't be staying long. I wanted to talk about today. I sure owe that man in there a lot. He saved my life today." "He is a good man," Myra replied. "This is hard for me. He told me what happened." She laughed as she remembered her husband's description of the shooting. "I realize he could have been killed today, you both could have been killed. I told myself a long time ago that I would deal with that when it happened. I still worry about him. I know he thinks I'm a 'brick' when it comes to the danger he faces as a cop. I don't let him know how much I worry. I know that at one crucial moment that thought might distract him just enough to make the difference between life and death." She had been standing with her arms folded in front of her. At the last sentence, she began to sob quietly and put a hand up to cover her mouth. Nick went to her and enfolded her in his strong arms and held her as she sobbed. Tears came to Natalie's eyes as the realization hit her, Nike could have really been injured if it hadn't been for the quick thinking of his partner. Nick had always been so invulnerable to bullets and she really hadn't considered the fact that she would be the one worrying and wondering if he would come home. She turned from the sight, left the house and went out into the car to sit. Nick found her there, crying. He reached over and held her until she was able to speak. "I don't know if I can be that strong. I don't know if I could face... You almost were killed today." Her sobs started anew. When she had quieted again, he pulled her away from him and wiped her tears. "You're stronger than you think. If you want me, you take the whole package, not just parts. Whether I stay a detective or move onto something else, I am still what I am and I know you to be a strong and strong-willed woman who will be able to handle anything that comes our way. I love you. I have never been able to say that to you before, but everything that held me back is gone now. I want us to be together for the remainder of our mortal lives, to enjoy all this world has to offer, together." Natalie stopped and stared at him in a kind of shock. She hadn't realized he felt the same about her. She had hoped and she had picked up little signals here and there, but he had never said anything to lead her to believe he loved her. He loved her! She was so overwhelmed she began to cry and laugh at the same time. "I love you too," She whispered. "I just remembered something. I need to go see Megan. I promised her. Then we'll go on the picnic you promised me. Okay?" They arrived at the hospital to find there was no longer a guard on Megan's door. When Nick looked into Megan's room, she was asleep. He decided that what he had to say was too important, Nick needed to talk to her, to explain to her about her sister. He entered the room and crossed over to her bed. Leaning over her, he placed a kiss on the sleeping woman's forehead. Megan stirred and opened her eyes. Some of the swelling around her face had gone down and Nick was able to recognize her again. When she spoke, her voice was more her own. "Hello, Detective." Nick sat down on the edge of the bed beside her and took her hand in his. "I came to tell you about Brenda. You see, I found Brenda and tried to help her, but I'm afraid it was too late." "It's okay. God is taking care of her in heaven. He'll make sure she gets the help she needs. I prayed and asked him to." Nick smiled. This sweet lady already had it all figured out. Nick had expected Megan to be upset and have a hard time accepting her sister's death . He was wrong. Whatever faith of innocence she had that allowed her to accept the things she couldn't change would get her through this. On first impression, he had judged Megan to be weak and simple. What he was seeing from her now was a strength that some people never achieve, her own sister being one of them. They said their good-byes and he left the hospital. Shopping for "sunnier" clothes was next on their agenda. Nick's tastes and wardrobe had begun to gravitate to blacks and drab colors that matched his dark mood and existence. Now, he felt it was high time for a change. He was no longer a prisoner of the night, but a child of the sun once again. As they went from store to store, he marveled at the diversity of colors and styles he had been missing out on in this modern world that was now his world. As he went through and chose the different shades; cremes, beiges, blues, he felt a dark corner of himself coming to life with the bright light of the sun. He had long neglected this part of himself and it had shriveled, all but dying in side him. When they were done hitting the town, Nick was dressed more with his mood. He wore a sky blue jacket, a creme color pullover and matching slacks. The smile on Nick's face spoke volumes to Natalie who was just as excited. Through all the excitement she yet harbored a sense of uneasiness. What if this cure was only temporary? She tried to rid herself of the doubts, but it clung tenaciously on inside her. Natalie knew of a wonderful place to purchase ready-made picnic baskets. They purchased everything Nick had requested along with a nice wine and drove to the park. The pair sat under a lovely old elm tree and enjoyed their meal. Nick savored every flavor, every sensation, every texture. It was like being alive again, and it was literally the truth. He had been told some 767 years ago that he was dead and had actually believed that what he lived was a life of the undead being neither dead nor alive. That concept had changed when he had met the lovely Dr. Lambert in the city morgue of Toronto five years ago. Morgue, 1990: Dr. Natalie Lambert had just witnessed the most fantastic event of her entire life, one of the dead that had been brought to her had just stood up and was now drinking blood before her very eyes. At first it had frightened her, then fascinated her. When she had asked what he was, his answer had been, "You don't need to know." Later, he had told her, believing he could take the memory from her. They stood on opposite sides of the room. Slowly they closed the distance between them. "I'm a vampire," he had said. "A vampire." "Yes." They were now close enough to touch. She had raised her hand to touch his face, but he had grabbed her arm and slowly brought it to his cheek. "You're so cold," she was amazed. "I'm dead." His voice was flat, and she read a tragic misconcept in his tone. "No. No you're not. You're not dead." This creature before her could not be dead. Everything she had learned as a scientist and a doctor cried out at the falseness of his statement. Present day: At first, he had thought it a lack of understanding on her part, but by her very actions and attitudes towards him since their meeting, made him to believe. Natalie sat back against the tree trunk while Nick reclined with his head in her lap. Lazily she stroked his hair. He couldn't remember ever being this contented with who and what he was. His stomach was full of mortal food and he was in the company of a beautiful woman whom he loved, out in the daylight, unprotected. Who could want for more? He was so relaxed that he drifted off to sleep while Natalie sat there reading a book she had brought with her. Nick dreamed of rocking gently on a vast ocean, the soothing deep blue ocean . Then his senses were assailed by the sight of Catherine as she lay dying, her guilt staining the sheets red. Nick started to stir in Natalie's lap and woke her as she had dozed off soon after him. Nick's dream shifted to the events of early morning only this time he was watching from a distance. He could see himself talking to a woman with a gun and Schanke standing a short distance behind. He saw the woman raise the gun and point it directly at his chest. Schanke launched himself at Nick while squeezing a shot off at the woman. The woman fired and was thrown backwards while Schanke continued his fall to the floor and lay there , motionless. Nick was startled into wakefulness and opened his eyes to unfamiliar surroundings. He realized he was out in the day in the sunshine and started to panic before remembering he was in no danger. His heartbeat rang in his ears, ba-boom, ba-boom, ba-boom, steady and strong. Nick placed a hand on his chest. "Natalie?" "Right here, Nick." She was concerned. Nick had been through a very rough twenty-four hours. "I forgot where I was." He rubbed and blinked his eyes. "I think it's time we got you home. I don't want you to over-do on your first day out." "But... " "But nothing. You do as I say. I'm the doctor here. What I say goes." He pleaded with her using only his deep blue eyes. "Nick, please. There'll be other days and other picnics." "Oh, all right. On one condition, you stay with me." Natalie had wanted to go home and rest, her bed had been calling to her. "Okay." "Take the night off and spend it with me. We can watch movies or whatever you want. I just want to spend some time with you." "What I want to do is sleep." Nick spread his arms and shouted to the sky, "Life's too glorious to sleep, Nat!" She smiled and shook her head as she gathered up the picnic items to carry back to the car. end part 20 Robbi Knightie With Dark Tendencies Long Live the Knight egersdor@magiclink.com ***Caution: The next parts, 21a and 21b will be sent out under the ADULT: heading. It contains adult situations, nudity and explicit M/F sexual content. If you are one who is offended or are under 18, let me know and I will send you a PG-13 rated part 21. What happens in part 21 is really important to the story and was not written simply for sexual gratification. *** The Power in the Blood Part 21a By Robbi Egersdorf c 1996 "Okay, so we're here and I booked off work to stay with you. What do you want to do?" Natalie inquired, not sure why Nick had wanted her to stay. "I told you we could do whatever you wanted to do." "And I said... Oh, never mind. Let's watch a movie like you suggested." This time it was Natalie who went to the video cabinet. She looked over the titles he had stored there, over 200 movies in all, mostly older and out of date. "Don't you have anything current like The Bridges of Madison County or First Knight?" "I have Ghost, isn't that current enough?" "I know, I'll go out to the video store and rent us something and you find us something to eat. I have a feeling it's going to be a long night." Natalie grabbed the keys to the caddy and was out the door and down the stairs before Nick knew what was going on. "Find something to eat? She's trusting _me_ to find something to eat? Hum, maybe I'll try the phonebook." Nick found a place that was reputed to have excellent Chinese food, and they delivered as well. His order arrived just before Natalie returned. They sat and watched French Kiss, ate Chinese food, and drank the red wine he still had on hand. Nick and Natalie sat side-by-side on the couch and laughed at the movie. When it was over, Natalie had fallen asleep with her head on Nick's shoulder. Nick sat and watched her sleeping and thought how beautiful she looked in slumber. It felt so very good and so very right to be here with her. He couldn't resist touching her cheek. "Dear sweet Natalie, you belong to me and I _will_ have you." She stirred at his touch and his words. He couldn't let her lay, he had to have her and now he could take her. Now only time lay between him and the one thing he had dreamed of for so long, to take this woman and make love to her as a mortal human man. He leaned down and kissed her, savoring her taste and the feel of her lips on his. It was different than any kiss they had shared before. He could not hear her heartbeat, only feel his own pounding in his chest. The sensations were so much more focused inside himself. Her scent was nothing like he had breathed in before. He had sampled the scent of her often, but this was different. Gone was the scent of her blood that had driven him crazy on many occasions and in its place was a much more subtle and intoxicating perfume. He breathed it in and held it as it swirled in his head making him dizzy. The pleasure of it spread throughout his body. He ran the back of his hand in a whisper-gently touch down her cheek to her neck. His attention was drawn to her breasts. Cupping one in his hands he longed to taste of it. She stirred some and snuggled a little closer to his chest. Yes, now would be the time he would take her. The thought of her body drove him almost to the edge of insanity. He got up from beside her and she opened her eyes, a little disoriented. "What are we doing?" she breathed in her sleepy state. "We're going up to bed now, isn't that what you wanted?" She smiled then closed her eyes again. Nick gathered her up in his arms and looked into her face. She was so good, he didn't deserve her, yet he was helpless to deny himself this one thing. It didn't matter at that instance what it was that wanted her, the vampire, or the man, or the protein shakes, she was going to be his. He carried her up to his room and gently lay her on the black, cool sheets of his bed. He gazed at her with smoldering eyes. There was no thought of who he was or where he had come from, the only things that existed in his world was this woman and his love for her. A stray thought escaped the control of whatever had Nicholas and asked why this was happening, but it was beaten down quickly as if it had never existed. His eyes didn't leave Natalie as he pulled off his shirt and slacks. Sitting on the bed next to her, he began to unbutton her blouse. Halfway down her blouse he felt a hand close on his wrist. He stopped and looked at Natalie's face and smiled. She lay there still for the stretch of several minutes, then loosened her grip allowing him to continue. Natalie floated in a half-waking, half-sleep world and was unsure if this was a dream or reality. Whatever it was, she hoped she never woke up. She sat up and allowed Nick to slide her blouse over her shoulders and down her arms, then off, caressing her with his hands the whole way down. Natalie rolled her head back and reveled in the sensation of his hands on her bare skin. He discarded the piece of clothing in the corner and reached around her to pull her chemise over her head. When that article of clothing was free he threw it over in the corner as well. She sat before him with only her bra covering her breasts. He cupped one in his hand and gently squeezed it, eliciting a soft, low moan from Natalie. He reached behind her and unfastened the hooks, allowing her breasts to fall free of the encumbering garment. He was so awed he couldn't help but sit and stare at their creamy whiteness, marvelling at their simple beauty. As he stared at her nakedness, Natalie's eyes snapped open, wide awake now. Nick looked up into her face and she could see the passion burning there for her. "This is really happening, isn't it." Her voice was timid and quiet. She hesitated to speak the words for fear she would find it a dream. "No," his voice was so gentle and he shook his head as he spoke. "In this night, we will consummate our love for each other." His words sent a thrill through her. She had to be dreaming. Reaching up, she cupped her hand over his cheek and slowly ran it down his chest. He felt real, yet her senses seemed to be swimming in an unreal world. She had dreamt of this often in her own bed, alone. Her touch brought a warmth to his skin that had been cold for centuries, the warmth spread throughout his body, inflaming him to the point of nearly losing control. He would not take her that way. He wanted this to be slow and gentle or not at all. A shiver began at his loins and soon encompassed his whole being. Natalie leaned forward, her breasts rubbed up against his bare chest. She whispered in his ear, "Make love to me," then nibbled on his lobe. Her words quickened his pulse and his breath started to come faster. Nick's arms quickly encircled her and pressed her body to his. "I want you so badly, I can scarcely think clearly." "Mmmm. I hope so." Her voice was deep and throaty with her passion for him . His mouth closed on her neck and he nibbled up and down its length. The sensation was nearly more than she could handle, "OHhhh." Something flashed in her brain, a sort of disjointed memory of standing with Nick behind her nibbling on her neck, only she could feel the points of his fangs. She pushed the memory aside and immersed herself back in the pleasure of the moment. As he caressed her neck, he reached down and undid her skirt, slipping his hands down and around her round buttocks cheeks. She felt as though she were floating above the ground with nothing to hold her up, just air. They had come this far, there would be no turning back. She had passed the point where her rational mind ended and the long years of waiting and longing took over. Everything she had felt for him, everything she had buried out of a sense of safety and responsibility was now flowing out of her in a wave so large, she couldn't stop it if she wanted to. He continued sliding his hands down her legs. Natalie lay back and allowed him to remove the rest of her clothing and toss them into the corner. Nick sat on the edge of the bed and stared at her naked form. He could not seem to get enough of the sight of her. She could see the approval in his eyes as she watched him reach up and cup a bare breast. Leaning forward he teased the nipple with his teeth. Natalie rolled her head, letting the sensations roil through her. The sensations and feelings that pulsed through Nick were so much more concentrated then the sensations he felt when experiencing sex as a vampire. Those sensations were more expansive, but seemed watered down in comparison to what he was feeling now. He reached down and rid himself of the rest of his clothing and slid between the silk sheets, holding them for Natalie to join him. end part 21a Robbi Knightie With Dark Tendencies Long Live the Knight egersdor@magiclink.com ***Caution: The next parts, 21a and 21b will be sent out under the ADULT: heading. It contains adult situations, nudity and explicit M/F sexual content. If you are one who is offended or are under 18, let me know and I will send you a PG-13 rated part 21. What happens in part 21 is really important to the story and was not written simply for sexual gratification. *** The Power in the Blood Part 21b By Robbi Egersdorf c 1996 Natalie slid between the sheets with Nick. The sheets were cool against her naked body, but Nick was warm. He opened his mouth and kissed her pouring every ounce of passion into the contact. She felt as though he were going to swallow up her very being and she willed herself inside him. "I do not love this woman." His voice seemed to whisper in her ear, yet Natalie knew that Nick could not speak with his mouth over hers. She pulled back to look at him. She still felt as though she floated freely in the air. Reality and something else seemed to be interweaving within her. She returned to the kiss with such passion, it took Nicholas' breath away. "Then prove it to me, bring her over." She pulled away from him. The confused look on Natalie's face worried Nick. "What?" "I thought I heard Lacroix's voice." "I didn't hear anything." He sat up and looked around the room. They were absolutely alone. He turned back to Natalie. "If you're not ready for... " She pulled him back to her and she kissed him again, this time rolling on top of him. "And if I refuse?" It was Nick's voice again. "Then I will do with her as I please." Lacroix's words made her stomach tighten with fear. "At least she's someone who will improve our kind's reputation." She felt herself pulled to a standing position. There was someone standing behind her... Nick. He kissed her with such longing then teased her neck. She could feel the points of his fangs on her bare skin. He pulled away from her and she heard him let out a growl that frightened her to her very center. Throwing herself into a kiss, she had to block the memories from coming. The fervor with which she kissed him, startled Nick. He pushed her back in order to look into her face. "What is going on?" She leaned forward and whispered, "I want you inside me." All worries were washed away by her statement. He longed to be inside her, to have her inside him. He rolled her over and slid between her legs. "Are you sure about this?" She nodded and he could see the truth shining in her eyes. He entering her moistness. She moaned and pulled him to her. Nick began to suck and tease at her neck with his teeth. She lay with her eyes closed as waves of pleasure washed over her with each thrust. She felt him at her neck and she felt the points of his fangs again , but they weren't really there. She was confused. She heard a growl in her ear as she felt Nick, as he stood behind her draw back. She braced herself for his fangs to enter her flesh. The only sensation she felt was his weight on top of her moving in rhythm to her heartbeat. There he was, inside her and she longed for more. She thrust her hips up towards him with each movement he made. Nick pulled back and buried himself into her, over and over again. The sensation lapped at his senses and numbed his brain with its intensity. At that instant, he felt something very old and savage break free inside him and wash through him and out with such force that he lost all contact with reality. He pulsed inside her and he could hear the woman underneath him moan. He pulled back to look at her. The only thing he could focus on was the vein pulsing under the skin of her neck, the only thing he could smell was the fragrance of her blood as it called to him. He felt an ache in his cheeks as his fangs descended. They longed to enter the woman. He hungered for her blood. He had to have her sweetness inside him, to taste of her every passion and fear. Natalie opened her eyes to look at him and saw his golden vampire eyes staring at her and the fangs of the vampire peeking out from between Nick's lips. She could not tell in her mind if this was reality or some waking dream. She stared at him as the pleasure pulsed through her, helpless to protest. The predator captured her attention and she feared she would be swallowed up by those golden eyes that looked through her to her very soul. "I must have you," He whispered, deep and frighteningly savage. A thrill shot through her as he pulled back his head and let out a feral roar. Natalie's heart began to race and her blood pounded in her ears. Her breathing came shallow and fast. She screamed again as she felt him move inside her, helpless as she was washed away on the tide of her climax. She screamed over and over again. Her screaming only served to build his desire for her blood. Slowly, he leaned forward till his fangs were touching her flesh. Natalie went limp under him, her body damp with perspiration. The vision of his dear sweet Natalie, lying dead under him flashed through his mind with enough force to knock him back to reality. He reached up and felt the fangs in his mouth, they were real all right, this was all real and he had been about to... He was off the bed and grabbed up his clothes so fast, she didn't even see him move. Natalie just knew he was gone. Not only gone from the bedroom, but gone from the loft. She lay there, stunned, for a long time trying to sort out what had just happened. "No." She heard Lacroix's voice again. It was so real, she had to look around the room to see if he was there. "Why not?" Nick whispered near her ear as she felt him nibble on her neck. She felt the points of his fangs again. Where was she? She remembered, Azure. She had gone there on Valentine's Day, she thought to meet Nick. Instead, she had been greeted by a tall, distinguished looking gentleman who introduced himself as Lucien Lacroix. The memory of the whole night came rushing back to her and she played the rest of the scene out in her mind. "I know you too well. You revere all that is mortal, all that is human. If you really loved her you would never take that from her. You would rather see her die. I will not trade Fleur for that. Your heart is still untouched. It has never quickened with such passion, never ached with such sorrow. But someday it will, Nicholas, someday it will." It was Lacroix's voice again, then she heard a gentle swoosh and he was gone. She heard Nick behind her let out a sigh of relief then turn her around, embracing her as if he would never let her go. The realization of how close she had been to death frightened her then she remembered how close she had come this very night. She felt a wave of nausea wash over her. No wonder Nick had behaved the way he had the other night when he had taken her to Azure. He was afraid she would remember what had happened. * * * Nicholas had gone up to the roof to put on his clothes. He had to get away from her, he had to get away from this place. Launching himself into the air, he was gone. end part 21b Robbi Knightie With Dark Tendencies Long Live the Knight egersdor@magiclink.com The Power in the Blood Part 22 By Robbi Egersdorf c 1996 Natalie slept where Nick had left her that night, at the loft in his bed. When she awoke sometime mid-morning, she half expected Nick to have returned . To her relief, he hadn't. She needed time to distance herself from what had happened, time to think things over and to figure out how she felt. The night before had been a very intense experience for her and she was emotionally drained by it. Overwhelmed was a very good word for what she felt right now. Since he hadn't returned home, he must have found another refuge from the sun, that is if she truly remembered right about the vampire coming back. She was a little worried about where he would stay as she showered. Did he just find an empty sewer and curl up for the day or had he imposed on Janette or Lacroix? She couldn't see him doing any of these. Then where? She chided herself. She stepped out of the shower, the room full of steam. Wiping the mirror with a towel, she looked at herself. A hand went to her neck as she examined her reflection. She did remember his fangs were very close, but there were no marks. At least he hadn't bit her without her knowledge, if that were possible. Natalie had read it over and over again in vampire romance novels. A vampire would come to a woman in the night, make love to her, feed from her and leave without the heroine even knowing she had been his dinner. She didn't seem any paler. "Now you're being silly again," she spoke to her image in the mirror. "Of course he didn't bite you." She didn't even know if she would live through a vampire bite. There were so many things about Nick's vampirism that he seemed reluctant to talk about , so many things she didn't know. She dried herself and dressed. She would have to go home for her make-up and other toiletries. Nick didn't have a very good stock of things when it came to a woman's needs. Natalie was about to leave the loft when she remembered the movies. "I've had enough late charges at the video store to last a lifetime." She went back and got the tape then opened the door again . Turning back to survey the empty apartment, she spoke to the objects that marked Nick's long life, "What's to become of you now, Nick Knight, and what's to become of me?" Turning out the light, she set his security code at the outside door and left. She decided to drive the caddy back to her apartment. Part of her wanted to forget what had happened that night and part of her wanted to remember forever. It had been the most wonderful, most horrible experience of her entire life. And the Valentine memories, what would she do about them? She wasn't even sure how she felt about those. She had never realized that being so close to Nick was life-threatening. That was a lie. She did know it was life-threatening, but had never had to face the threat in all the five years she had known of the existence of vampires, or so she thought. Just the thought of the threat Lacroix had made to her chilled her to the bone. At first, Lacroix had come across as a perfect gentleman. Looks really can be deceiving. This man wore a mask that hid his motives very well. Another, more frightening thought crossed her mind. How many other times had similar experiences occurred that were still buried in her unconscious, waiting to surface? She would definitely need time to think, to decide if she wanted to continue on such a dangerous quest. She hadn't realized how out of hand things had gotten. Not only was Nicholas beginning to be a threat to her life, but to her heart as well. She parked the car in front of her building and just sat there. It was still too much, too soon and her head felt like it would burst. "Oh, Nick, what have we done?" The tears came, gently at first and then a raging torrent. Upon unlocking her door and entering her apartment, Sydney was there to greet her. He sat back on his haunches and meowed a scold at his person that seemed to say, "And where have you been?" In response she opened a can of cat food and dutifully fed him. Looking around her home, it felt so empty, so cold. Whatever happened from this day forward, nothing would ever be the same. She was a different woman and he would be a different man no matter what. After fixing herself the rest of the way, there wasn't a whole lot she could do to keep her mind occupied on anything else, but what had happened. She tried reading, she tried watching TV, she even tried taking a walk; but to no avail, the questions would not let her be. Natalie went in to work early that night in hopes the incessant parade of questions that she could not answer would go away. She knew there would be a backlog due to the fact she had taken an unscheduled day off. Brenda Osborne was at the top of the list. Natalie had hoped this was one someone else would have taken care of. Digging right in, she got the autopsy done in record time and a darn thorough job at that. Natalie had found through experience, the best course of action to deal with an unpleasant task was to just do it and get it done. Around the Coroner's Office, things had a tendency to get real unpleasant if not dealt with quickly. Upon finishing, she had found the facts and reports confirmed each other. This was simply a case of a crazy woman shot and killed by a police officer in self-defense. She, as medical examiner, just happened to be very well acquainted with both of the involved officers. She got the papers she would need Schanke to sign together and decided to go see him. No use letting paperwork pile up until he was back on the job. Myra let Natalie in and showed her to the family room where Schanke had set up his "command center". He smiled as she entered. "Ah, the lovely Doctor Lambert. Pray tell, what brings you here, business or pleasure?" He looked up from the papers he was hard at filling out and greeted her. "A little of both, I'm afraid." She reached into her valise and pulled out the forms she needed his signature on. "Aw, not more paperwork, Natalie. Can't a man stay home and get a rest when he's been injured? Captain Cohen was here earlier with everything I needed to get the report started. When I protested she said, 'Your brain's not hurt and your arms are not broke, do it.' How do you like that?" He waved the papers that were in front of him at Natalie. "Schanke, you've been through this before, an officer involved..." He broke in and finished her statement, "... shooting means a lot more paperwork, I know. Just tell me where to sign." When they had finished, she sat in the chair beside him. "So, how are you feeling?" "The old side's a little stiff and sore, but nothing I can't handle." He indicated his side where the bullet had torn an ugly gash into his flesh. "No, I mean how are you feeling?" "Oh, that. I'll get through this like I always do. I did what I had to do and that's that." She hadn't expected any more of an answer than that. Don Schanke needed to work things out in his own way and talking about them wasn't one of them. "So, how's Knight taking all of this? He really looked strange the other night, you know, after the shooting. It was like he looked death straight in the eye and had the hell scared out of him. I've seen that look in a lot of men, good officers mind you, who just didn't feel comfortable with facing their own mortality. But Nick, whew. I'm not used to seeing him blink in the face of danger. It really gave me the willies. When that woman pointed her gun at him, it was like he froze. Is there something going on with him I should know about?" "I don't know, Schanke, I really don't know." "Cohen told me she gave him a few days off, told him to finish his vacation or something." "Yeah, that was it, he went back up camping. I haven't seen him since last night, so I don't know how he is. I think that this thing is effecting him more than he's letting on." That must be where he is, she felt a little relieved both because she knew where he was and that he wouldn't be back for a few days. "He's going to need a lot of support when he comes back. Well, I think I better get going. Oh, I forgot. I brought you some puzzle books to keep you occupied while you mend." She pulled the books out of her valise and handed them to the detective. "Thanks, doc. See you around." He was hard at filling out forms again, before she left the room. end part 22 Robbi Knightie With Dark Tendencies Long Live the Knight egersdor@magiclink.com -- [ From: Robbi Egersdorf * EMC.Ver #2.5.02 ] -- This one has Schanke in it and happens sometime after Be My Valentine and Before Black Buddah (of course!). I would like to thank Nancy Taylor for beta reading this for me. My apologies to her for forgetting her whole name all this time. As always these characters belong to Tristar and Sony. I am just borrowing them for a time. No copyright infringement is intended. Comments, virtual roses or chocolates and requests for missed parts to egersdor@magiclink.com The Power in the Blood Part 23 By Robbi Egersdorf c 1996 That night was a long night for Natalie. No matter how hard she worked to block out thoughts of the previous night, they continued to plague her. "I do not love this woman." "Do you think this is about love? It's about survival, Lacroix. She knows what I am. She's working to lift this curse from me. Isn't it in my best interest to humor her?" The words he spoke from his own mouth stung painfully as she remembered them . Knocking over a tray of instruments, she stood and just stared as tears came to her eyes. Grace heard the commotion and came running. She bent down and picked up the mess. "What is going on, sweetie? You really look like you need a sympathetic ear. It's just about lunchtime. Why don't we get something to eat and you can tell Grace all about it?" Grace reached over and handed Natalie a handkerchief. Natalie used it to wipe her eyes and blow her nose, then nodded in agreement . The two women drove to the all-night diner they used from time to time and sat, drinking coffee while they waiting for their orders to arrive. "It's Nick, isn't it?" Grace was the first to initiate the conversation. "Yes. We've gotten pretty close in the past few weeks." "I would have had to have blinders on not to know that, honey." "Well, last night he told me he loved me. I really want to believe him, but ... I don't know if I can trust him. Grace, I know you've had experience with this sort of thing. How do you know when a man loves you? I mean, anyone can say the words, 'I love you', but how do you know when he really means them?" "Take it from me, words and gifts don't mean a thing when it comes to love. Men just aren't wired in the same way as a woman is. They have different priorities. The only way to tell if a man loves you is not by what he says, but how he says it; not by what he does, but how he does it." The waitress came with their plates. "Now, who had the tuna on rye?" Natalie pointed to Grace and the waitress placed the sandwich in front of her. "And yours was the club sandwich." She placed the other plate in front of Natalie. "Can I get you anything else?" Natalie held up her coffee cup. "More, please." "Coming right up." The waitress ran off and returned with a fresh pot of coffee to fill the cups. "What do you mean, Grace? That just confuses me." "All it mean is it's the little things that tell you if he really loves you, you know, the things he doesn't think anyone notices." Natalie nodded. "I see." She wasn't very hungry. Her stomach was too tied up in knots from the turmoil in her heart. She sat and drank her coffee and watched Grace eat. Since being hired as ME at the Toronto Coroner's Office, Natalie and Grace had worked together a lot. You could sort of say they were "partners". They had shared a lot of tears and laughter with each other over the years. She really liked Grace and was glad to have someone she could talk to. There really was no one she could turn to, no one that would understand her dilemma. Grace was the closest that she could come. She couldn't go to Janette about what had happened. The last time Natalie had come up with a "cure", Nick had gone straight to her and she wasn't happy about it at all. No, it would not do for her to ask Janette's advice. She was probably the closest living person to Nick, her and Lacroix. Natalie shivered at the thought of that man and what he would have done to her if Nick hadn't intervened. If she ever saw his face again, it would be too soon. Grace had been talking about how her night had gone and the problems she had had with a new worker in the forensics lab, but Natalie hadn't heard a single word she had said. Grace took another bite of her sandwich then noted the faraway look in Natalie's eyes. "You're not eating." "What?" Natalie shook her head. "I didn't hear what you said." "I said, you're not eating. Aren't you hungry?" Natalie looked at her plate as if realizing it was there for the first time. "I guess not." "You've got it bad, girl." Natalie nodded her head in agreement. "Yes, and now I need to figure out if he's on the level or just after me for something else." Natalie thought Grace's eyes were going to pop right out of her head at the mention of "something else". "You don't suppose... " Natalie rolled her eyes and smiled. "No, it's not even that." He's already gotten that. How could she tell her friend he wanted her for her ability to find a cure for his vampirism. She couldn't. Natalie didn't even know if she wanted to try any more. For all she knew, Nick had already given up on her and was making plans to move on. Tears sprang to her eyes all over again. "Oh, I just hate it when I cry." She grabbed a couple napkins from the dispenser on the table and dabbed at her eyes. Grace motioned for the waitress. "Can I get something to put her sandwich in and our ticket?" The waitress brought a to-go box and Grace packed Natalie's sandwich in it. "Come on. We better get you out of here. I'll drive." Natalie sat in the passenger seat staring out the window, not really seeing anything. "I think you should go home." Natalie focused on Grace. "I need something to keep my mind occupied. I don't want to be home alone right now." Her eyes had a forlorn pleading expression. "All right, but I still think you should go home." Natalie smiled at her friend, yet the sadness remained in her eyes. For the rest of the night, Natalie was better able to concentrate on her job . Just having shared some small portion of her burden with someone else made it easier for her to bear. As Natalie slowly worked her way through the night, she began to sort out her situation. It was becoming increasingly apparent to her that there were too many questions and she may never know the answers to. end part 23 The Power in the Blood Part 24 By Robbi Egersdorf c 1996 After finishing work that morning, Natalie had gone by Nick's loft to find he had not yet returned. Everything was as she had left it. She knew exactly where he would be, at his cave in the wilds. He had taken her there once a couple years ago. Natalie had been so overwhelmed at how gorgeous the area was up there. She could definitely understand why he liked it there. Natalie sat, watching the loft from her car, contemplating going to see him to ask the questions she needed answers to. She had to know about Lacroix and Valentine's Day and she certainly wasn't going to ask Lacroix. Reason told her she wouldn't get anything from Nick until he was ready to come to her, if ever. She put the car in gear and headed home. Natalie was too wound up to be able to sleep so she sat and tried to understand, playing the scene over and over again in her mind. She knew what she needed to know was there, but she didn't know where. On Valentine's Day, earlier that year, Schanke had brought the white roses to the morgue. The card had read, "Dear Natalie, I would be thrilled if you would meet me for dinner at Azure this evening 8:00. A Gentleman from the 13th Century." Natalie had gone to Azure, thinking she would meet Nick. She had later found out the flowers and note were from Lacroix. As they had sat and talked, Lacroix had told Natalie he had bought out the restaurant in her honor. He had warned her over and over again in their conversation a relationship with Nick would be wrought with impossible odds. "Nick and I are trying to reverse the condition." Natalie felt her jacket pulled down off her shoulders and Lacroix caress her bare skin as he stood over her. "Ah, but do be careful. Have you never considered the possibility that Nicholas' so-called 'condition' is the very quality in him that you adore." She felt a gentle hand caress her neck. "You are fascinating creatures." This whole thing was so sensual to her and was scary. It lent weight to the argument that the only reason she was attracted to Nick was because he was a vampire. "It is not uncommon the attraction that you feel. A force of nature as immutable as the stars. Others have felt it before." His voice came closer to her ear and her skin tingled. Was what Lacroix said true? Do vampires have an irresistible attractive quality to all mortals? Is that the nature of the creature? Oh, no. There is no way that could be true. Schanke did not react to Nick in that way and neither did Cohen. It couldn't be true. "Did it surprise you when Nicholas expressed his love for you?" The sultry voice of Lacroix whispered so close to her ears she could feel his chill breath that ran shivers up her spine. She feared this man, yet was captivated and unable to move from where she sat. "Beautiful things were said, beautiful things." "How wonderful. I'm so happy." Natalie felt him close in on her neck. Her hand came to her neck and covered it as she remembered. The moment was interrupted by a loud crash and the angry growling and snarling of the two vampires. "What feeble excuse do you have for backing down on our agreement?" "I have not backed down on our agreement. I'm here to claim what is rightfully mine." What did Lacroix mean by "rightfully mine", how could I possibly be rightfully his? "You gave your word, Lacroix, never to invade my life with your mindless killing." She would be dead if it hadn't been for Nick. "Your memory is as weak as the object of your love." There had been a slap and a smack behind her. Then she heard a snap as of a breaking stick in front of her. Nick had said that Lacroix had a wooden stake. "I will have the retribution that you promised me. I will deprive you of the mortal that you love or I will deprive her of you. Either way your promise will be fulfilled." Lacroix's voice was very close again. Natalie understood he still intended to kill her. "I shall enjoy watching it take you over, the torture that I've felt every moment since leaving your sister behind." That was it. He had wanted to kill Nick's sister and Nick had to make a promise of some kind to keep her safe. "What makes you think I'm in love with this woman?" Did Nick speak the truth or were these just words meant for Lacroix's ears only, a lie to save her life? "I have seen it with my own eyes." "Do you think this is about love? This is about survival, Lacroix. She knows what I am. She's working to lift this curse from me. If she happens to have an infatuation for me, isn't it in my best interest to humor her?" Natalie counted several heartbeats of silence between the two vampires. Why was Nick there that night? Was it to protect his chance at a cure, as he said? The thought that he was just using her stung. He had said so from his own mouth. There was no mystery why Nick had been afraid she would remember his words when he had taken her to Azure. He had really made a big mistake there. "Hipocracy from you is even more sickening then I expected." Lacroix really believed that Nick loved her... in everything he had said, he really believed that Nick loved her. How could his master be so mistaken? Or was he? Natalie took another drink of her coffee as she sat on her sofa in her apartment, stroking Sydney who had curled up with her and was blissfully purring. Natalie's head began to spin at the implications. Natalie had to know the truth and there was no one living or dead that would tell her that she would believe. The answers were there in her memory of that night and she would find them. Natalie immersed herself in the memory of Valentine's Day once again. "I do not love this woman." Nick's statement, pure and simple. By his own words he did not love her. Natalie was not yet willing to make the judgement. There was more to examine. Grace had said the answer would be when Nick didn't think anyone knew what he was doing. Why would you lie when there was no one to lie to? There was still Lacroix to lie to. "Then prove it to me. Bring her over." "And if I refuse?" "Then I will do with her as I please." Hearing the words in her mind tightened her stomach with pure terror. The thought of this man doing with her as he pleased paralyzed her. "At least she's someone who will improve our kind's reputation." At that point Natalie was pulled to her feet to stand with Nick at her back. She sighed with relief. Natalie's mouth remembered the kiss, all encompassing. It felt as if her very soul would be taken into Nick. Natalie became hot just remembering the kiss and the way he nibbled at her neck. With it came the memories of their night of lovemaking. The two events were irrevocably fused together forever in her mind. She would never be able to remember the one without bringing the other with it. She heard a snarl at her ear and felt Nick pull back in preparation to plunge his fangs into her neck. "No." Why did Lacroix stop him? "Why not?" Nick's voice was full of longing. Had he really wanted to take her? It was so hard to judge the motives of another's actions. "I know you too well. You revere all that is mortal, all that is human. If you really loved her, you would never take that from her. You would rather see her die." Did Lacroix mean that because Nick was willing to bring Natalie across, there was no way that he loved her? "I will not trade Fleur for that. Your heart is still untouched. It has never quickened with such passion, never ached with such sorrow, but someday it will, Nicholas, someday it will." There was a gentle swoosh and he was gone. Natalie's heart became heavy. It had to be true. Nick did not love her. A single tear coursed down her cheek. "He does not love me. He lied." She spoke to the only living thing near, her pet, Sydney. The cat lazily lifted his head to look at his person. Lacroix had left the restaurant. Leaving Nick responsible for Natalie. There was something he had done after his master had left and he was sure that Natalie herself didn't see. Nick had breathed a sigh of relief and held her as if he would never let go. "Natalie, what a fool you have been. That is not the action of a man out to get whatever he can from you, that was the action of a man in love." She sat and sobbed, pouring out her pain and relief in her tears. Now she knew how he felt and she knew how she felt . There would be no giving up on the cure. She would work until she was old and grey or until he had to move on and then she would beg him to take her with him. She could not deny it any longer. He loved her just as he had said. end part 24 Robbi Knightie With Dark Tendencies Long Live the Knight egersdor@magiclink.com Robbi Knightie With Dark Tendencies Long Live the Knight egersdor@magiclink.com The Power in the Blood Part 25 By Robbi Egersdorf c 1996 Now that Natalie knew how she felt and what she wanted, she made a decision to let Nick have one more day to get himself together. If he didn't show up by the end of her shift tomorrow morning, she would go to him. If the mountain wouldn't come to Mohammed, then Mohammed would go to the mountain. That night was a rather routine night. She had a drowning victim along with a couple of automobile accident victims to deal with, nothing monumental. Grace was glad to see that Natalie was back to her same old self, well, almost. The one nagging concern that Natalie still had was how Nick was going to deal with all of this? Would he be able to step back into his life as a 13th Century vampire desperately seeking a cure and member of the 20th Century Homicide Division of the Toronto Metro Police Department? She repeated her run by the loft that morning, finding everything untouched with no Nick to be found. That meant she would be driving up to the cave that night. She went home to get some sleep before her trip. For some reason, Natalie had difficulty sleeping as she ran over and over in her mind the things she wanted to say to Nick and the questions she needed to ask. Natalie timed her departure that night, so she would arrive just after sunset. It wouldn't do for her to drive all that way to find Nick had already left for home. * * * Nick sat on the rock, overlooking the water where Schanke had found him a few short weeks ago. It really hadn't been that long ago, but it felt like several lifetimes had passed. So much had happened to him since the last time he was here; he had become human, experienced the most glorious day in the sun, then spent the most wondrous night with the woman he loved just to have his dream ripped away from him and once again, he was thrust down into hell. Nick stared at the cobalt blue sky that was populated by feathery clouds the wind had sculpted into ripples, like waves in the sky. A bright, partial moon peeked out from behind their fluffy whiteness to give a glow to the world below. The crystalline waters lay silently below him. None of this beauty could do a thing to lighten the heaviness in his heart. Nick took another drink from the bottle of animal blood he held and grimaced . He hated being a vampire and he hated drinking blood. The wonder of his experience as a mortal had made it very difficult for him to go back to what he was. He remembered the warm sun on his skin, the wonder as he looked at the world in the light of day, the taste of food in his mouth and the feel of it in his belly. Would there ever be an end to his suffering? Would he ever find true and lasting happiness? He demanded answers from the empty sky. Nick had come here to be alone until he could face the world again, could face Natalie. The constant beat of life present in this place, lent a soothing air to this dark world that had once again embraced him. Nick had heard her drive up and park. He had listened as she hiked up the trail towards him. He had recognized her familiar heartbeat and concentrated on it as its beat quickened in her chest and the rhythm of her respirations increased with the exertion. She had a good strong heart. He put a hand to his chest where his own heart beat once then lay still again. Nick had had a normal heartbeat for only a short time and now he longed for it to beat that way again. Natalie walked up to where she knew he would be and stopped, his back reflected in the beam of her flashlight. "So, this is where you've been keeping yourself." He longed to run to her, his arms ached to hold her, his lips to kiss her... instead he sat staring off into the void of darkness, unmoving. Nick was afraid of her and what he might do to her. "Go away. I need to be alone." "I need to talk to you." She walked over and sat next to him, ignoring his plea for her to leave. He could feel the heat from her body and he closed his eyes to the sensations they triggered in him. "I nearly killed you." "I know. It wasn't the first time, was it?" Nick turned to Natalie. "What are you talking about?" "I remembered Valentine's Day... " She watched for his reaction. He didn't give anything away. "... all of it." "Nat, I.. " She held up a hand to silence him. "I'm not interested in explanations right now. Someday perhaps I'll have you tell me the whole story, but for now I want you to know I really do understand why you did what you did and I am grateful to you for taking the risks you did. I know it was a hard thing for you to do." Nick was stunned. Never in his wildest imagination could he see her reacting in such a way to the events of that night. He hadn't given her enough credit and would have to re-examine the way he felt about her and treated her. "I would have still thanked you if he had called your bluff. I know what he would have done to me." Nick turned back to the abyss before him. "I understand now why I failed to stay human. Lacroix was trying to tell me something and I just wouldn't listen. Damn him for being right." He held a handful of leaves out over the precipice and dropped them, watching their slow dance to the water. "He knew the vampire element in my blood would struggle to survive. The aphrodisiac effect we thought was caused by something in the drinks was simply the vampire fighting back." Despite the fact he should not be anywhere near this woman, he was unable to gather the strength to send her away. She was the only one he could talk to , the only person in the entire world that really understood what was going on inside him. He turned to her, taking the risk to look into her eyes, of seeing her form and smelling her scent. The sensations brought the hunger to life in him and he had to turn away again. He felt his control of the vampire was tenuous at this point. When the vampire had returned to him, he had had to fight hard to regain what control he presently had, to keep from hiding in some alley and taking the first mortal who happened by and draining them. He had just been able to lay his hands on some animal blood which allowed him to gain control. He took another drink of the blood from the bottle at his side. Natalie was not willing to say anything at this point about the blood- drinking. She knew this was what gave him the control he needed with her. "I have to know," Nick figured they were being honest and he needed this question answered as well. "What did you put in those shakes you fed me? Surely you can tell me now without spoiling the experiment." "I should have been honest with you from the beginning. I just wasn't sure how well it would work if you knew. I'm sorry." "What? The legend of the Ch'ing Shih?" "The what?" "The Chinese vampire. You did say you went to see a Chinese apothecary, didn't you?" "Yes I did, but that's not the ingredient I speak of. You see, I put powdered blood products in your drinks, slowly decreasing the amount used until there was none. In effect, I slowly weaned you off blood." "Was it animal blood?" Nick continued dropping dead leaves, one at a time over the edge and watching them slowly drift down to the lake below to float on the surface of the water. "I would never... Don't you trust me?" "It would appear there is a lack of trust on both sides." His voice was so cold and detached, it scared her and left her feeling empty inside. "I take it you don't want me here. I don't suit your purposes anymore and now you're dismissing me." Natalie choked on the last words. Clenching her jaw against the stab of pain, she would bite her tongue before shedding tears in front of him. She knew he loved her, but was beginning to wonder if he knew that he loved her. He looked at her with such regret, it wrenched her heart. "No," he whispered, then looked back out into nothingness. "If it weren't for you, I would have walked into the sun that next day." Now it was Natalie's turn to be stunned. "Why shouldn't I be surprised." This self-pity he was showing was starting to be more than Natalie could handle. How dare he pull her into his pity game. Because of her reactions, Nick felt a need to explain. "I was so ashamed at what I had done to you... I never should have taken advantage of you like that." Natalie stood and took a few steps back down the trail. "So that's how you think of making love to me." She was so angry, she shook. "I wanted it and I enjoyed it. I'm not ashamed to admit that. You didn't take anything from me I didn't freely give. It happens sometimes when two consenting adults get together." She turned back and started down the trail. "Let me know when you're through feeling sorry for yourself. I'm not ready to give up on you yet and I hope you're not planning on giving up on me," she spoke under her breath as she walked away, knowing he could hear her every word. She left him there, sitting on the edge of the world. Natalie didn't have to take this from anyone, and certainly not from Nick, but she had grown to expect this sort of behavior from him. Why did she put herself through this time after time? She didn't need the pain. Why didn't she just call it quits instead of waiting until he would eventually leave? Why put her heart and soul into someone just to have that person stomp on her heart, then leave? How much of this could one person take? These were all valid pertinent questions and cried out for answers, or at least serious consideration. What was it that she had told Lacroix? "I guess I knew the risks when I signed on." "Liar." She had not fully known the consequences of her decision. She could have pretended to forget and let him walk out of her life forever, but she just couldn't let such a challenge go unanswered. There was something she had seen in his eyes that first day that had drawn her to him, given her a desire to help him. She had been powerless to resist it. Natalie looked in the rearview mirror and saw her own eyes looking back at her. "You're a damn fool." She had been hooked from the minute Nick stood from her autopsy table and now she was hooked so deep she wasn't sure she could disentangle from him without major damage to her heart. You can't go through what she had been through with Nick the past five years and not come out unscathed. Her association with Nick had taken her life from the depths of normalcy to somewhere she had never imagined to exist, where the thin line between fantasy and reality seemed to blur. Natalie hadn't really had much of a life other than her work, before Nick had come along and now he had become such a big part of it. It scared her to think what her life would be like without him. Now that was becoming a very strong possibility. Whether their relationship continued on from this point in time would depend on Nick and how he handled the events of the last few days. end part 25 Robbi Knightie With Dark Tendencies Long Live the Knight egersdor@magiclink.com Robbi Knightie With Dark Tendencies Long Live the Knight egersdor@magiclink.com The Power in the Blood Part 26 By Robbi Egersdorf c 1996 "I was so ashamed at what I had done to you. I never should have taken advantage of you like that." Natalie stood and took a few steps back down the trail. "So that's how you think of making love to me." She was so angry, she shook. "I wanted it and I enjoyed it. I'm not ashamed to admit that. You didn't take anything from me I didn't freely give. It happens sometimes when two consenting adults get together." She turned back and started down the trail. "Let me know when you're through feeling sorry for yourself. I'm not ready to give up on you yet and I hope you're not planning on giving up on me," she spoke under her breath as she walked away and every word she had said had been heard and understood clear to the very core of his being. He had started to go after her, then thought better of it. Nick was bungling everything with her, better to let this one go. He had listened to her storming back down the trail, cussing him the whole way. When she arrived at the car, he had realized by the sound of the engine, she was driving the caddy. It hit him, Natalie was planning on taking him back with her when she came. He wasn't ready to go back. He had things to work out. Nick wasn't even sure if he was ever going back. He stood from the rock and stared down at the waters below. Stripping his clothes from his body, he dove into the waters below. Nick found the waters to be refreshingly undemanding. It seemed the world below the surface of the water accepted him as one of their own without reservation or expectation. It was the expectations that were hard to live up to in the human world; Cohen had them, Schanke had them, and Natalie had them. Cohen and Schanke's expectations were easy to live up to. All that was required was to do his job as a homicide detective and solve the cases assigned to him. Natalie's expectations were a whole different ballgame. She wanted him to be human and she wanted everything that humanity meant, from him. He had tried over and over to give that to her, but he always failed miserably. Nick settled his body onto the muddy bottom of the lake, allowing it to engulf him in its cooling silence. He lay there and contemplated his life. Life. Was it a life or was it hell? He lay on his back with his eyes clenched shut, remembering what it had been like to make love to the woman. How could he return to a life where that simple act was not possible? His mind cried out for release, a release from the torment and torture of his existence. Across the distance that separated them, Lacroix could feel the turmoil bubbling in his son's heart, he could feel the hatred and the loathing directed at the both of them. Lacroix smiled to himself. His progeny had once again joined the ranks of the living-dead. Nicholas needed him and he would go to him. Nick lay at the bottom of the lake for how long, he didn't know. When he emerged from the water, Lacroix was there, waiting for him. Quietly his master watched as Nick dried off his body and donned his clothes. They were the clothing of his mortality, a creme color pullover and matching slacks with a sky blue jacket. "Not exactly what the best dressed vampire is wearing this season, is it?" Ignoring the comment on his dress, "Why have you come?" Nick turned from his creator and sat on the rock once again. "I have come in response to your call for help." The master vampire's voice was smooth and unruffled by Nick's comments. "I made no such call. Leave me." Nick sent his message of unwelcome not only with his words, but the tone of hostility in his voice. "Maybe you don't realize this, but I know how confused you are right now, what with your recent experience." Nick read deceptive concern in his master's voice and dismissed it as such. "Why should you care?" "I will always care. You are my child, my protege." "Empty, hollow words coming from you." Nick spat with vehemence. "What have I done to deserve such a reputation in your mind?" His voice continued smooth and unbothered. "What haven't you done? You invade my life at every turn and I'm sick of it ." Nick walked away from Lacroix, heading for the cave and his stash of blood. "You did this to me without telling me what immortality really meant ." "You had the choice to accept the vampire. It was yours alone. I could not make the choice for you and still you blame me. I have come to comfort you. " "Why can't you leave me alone? I want nothing more than to have the world leave me alone!" Nick screamed at Lacroix. "Because you need me." The scene played itself out as it had myriads of times before in their relationship with one another. Why was this one so difficult? Why did he have to struggle so with this one? Sometimes it wearied him to the core. This son was so contrary, so stubborn. It puzzled Lacroix, why had he chosen this one? Was it his spirit, his fire? Did Lucien Lacroix enjoy the conflict this relationship gave him? Or had Nicholas deBrabant been chosen simply because he cared for this son of his more than he could say? The last thought so annoyed him, that he quickly pushed it from his mind. "Ah Nicholas, why do you do this to yourself? This pain is so unnecessary." Nick returned with a bottle, downed half the contents and wiped his mouth with the back of his hands. "I can't live like you would have me. I just can't." "You have stayed too long in this life. It has become time to move on. I know our dear Janette is feeling the need. Soon she will be gone." The words, "I have too much in this life to leave," lay on Nick's tongue, unspoken. Did he really have that much here? He was really making a difference in his job, but he could find another and do the same elsewhere, if that was what he wanted. He would miss Schanke. Maybe it would be better for all those involved if he did move on. He had almost gotten Schanke killed. All he could do in Natalie's life would be to destroy her. There was always the chance that others of his kind who didn't approve of mortal knowledge of the vampire's existence would come and kill her. The longer he stayed with her the greater the chance they would find her. As long as he was here, he stood in the way of her happiness. Three strikes, you're out. Nick offered the bottle to Lacroix who waved it away. "I'll think about it. You may be right." "Now you're being sensible, my child." And his master was gone. It would be daylight soon, but Lacroix would have enough time to safely make it back to the city. Nick sat and contemplated his choices until the sun began to color the sky; then he sought refuge from the deadly rays under the protection of solid rock. end part 26 Robbi Knightie With Dark Tendencies Long Live the Knight egersdor@magiclink.com Robbi Knightie With Dark Tendencies Long Live the Knight egersdor@magiclink.com The Power in the Blood Part 27 By Robbi Egersdorf c 1996 Upon entering the loft, Nick was hit with a cold wave. This place did not feel like "home" any longer. He had made the decision to leave while up at the cave and was now glad of it. He couldn't live here with the memories, they were just too painful. Most everything would be put in storage then sent on to him, whereever he decided to settle. Nick would hire someone to come in and do that for him. The bare essentials would be all that he would take with him. Many years of having to leave in a hurry had taught him to pack lightly. Most everything else could be bought, when one had the money. That's one thing Nick never had to worry about, what with a king's ransom at his disposal. If anyone was an expert at leaving, it was him. It had become routine. This time it wouldn't be routine. This time when he left, he would be leaving his heart behind. Just for this one moment, he would let himself regret this decision , but no more. It would all be behind him when he left this place, it had to be. He planned to submit his resignation to Captain Cohen on his way to the airport. He would not face Natalie, nor would he tell her. He would just be gone to her. Natalie would get over him and find someone who would make her happy, someone else, someone she could love just the way they were, without having to wait for them to change. He called and made reservations for a flight that would be leaving in two hours for the states. It was the soonest open flight he could book, it didn't matter for where. He thought about using Aristotle to relocate, but decided against it. Nick had never used anyone in moving around and he wasn't about to start now. If he got to where he was going and needed help, then he would ask, not until. His answering machine light flashed denoting several messages were awaiting his attention. He would not listen to them. They were probably Natalie. She was the last person in the world he wanted to talk to and in all his imagination, he couldn't fathom her wanting to talk to him. Going through his closet to find a few things to pack, he came across the clothes he had bought the day he had in the sun. He tore them off the hangers and threw them on the bed. He would not be wearing them now. Picking his darkest, blackest shirt and pants, he changed into them and looked at himself in the mirror. Funny thing, he could see himself in the sun wearing the clothes he had just shed. Nick looked down at them where they had been discarded. They lay on the floor, their lighter color contrasting the smudges and stains of several days' wear. It was just as the mortality he had shed... There would be no more regrets, no more looking back. He was going on to another life and would find others to associate with, but he would _never_ give his heart to another again. Gathering up his luggage he headed for the door. One last look and he would leave. He took in the mantle on the fireplace that he had lugged around from place to place; the black sculpture of the sun, how ironic he had found it when selecting it; the special installed electronic shutter behind which he had hidden from the deadly rays of the sun; the refrigerator where he stored his blood supply, and more recently the shakes... ; the motorcycle, a sign of some wilder, carefree days; the couch where Natalie and he had spent long hours watching some movie or other, or just sitting and discussing things. His eyes lit upon the stairs which he had carried Natalie up to his bed that night. There was a desperate sadness he couldn't shake in leaving this place. "Like taking off one garment and replacing it with another." The words echoed hollowly in this empty place. He turned and closed the door behind him. The phone rang, demanding his attention. He heard it, but kept on going, choosing not to answer it. There was no one he wanted to talk to anyway. Nick had to rely on his own sort of transport, by air. Natalie still had the caddy. She could keep it for all he cared. She deserved something. After he left the loft, the answering machine picked up, "This is Nick Knight, I'm either in bed or incommunicado. You know what to do. Beep." "Nick, buddy, if you're there pick up. Natalie is in the hospital, she's been hurt. Damn you Knight, where are you? This is the third time I've called and talked to this stupid answering machine of yours. Anyway, she's at Scarborough General, come as soon as you can." Schanke's voice fell only on the deaf ears of the objects who were now the sole inhabitants of the loft and they wouldn't be responding to his call. * * * Schanke returned to the waiting room and sat by Captain Cohen. "Did you reach him?" His side was still pretty tender, but it was nothing compared to what Natalie was going through. "No luck, just that answering machine of his. I'm going to have to talk to him about that. Has there been anymore news about Natalie?" "They just took her back into surgery. She started hemorrhaging again." Cohen rubbed her burning eyes. She was tired and needed sleep, but there would be none for her until she knew her favorite medical examiner and friend would be all right. end part 27 Robbi Knightie With Dark Tendencies Long Live the Knight egersdor@magiclink.com The Power in the Blood Part 28 By Robbi Egersdorf c 1996 Nick entered the precinct, stopping at the front desk. "Lapinsky, where's Captain Cohen?" His manner was brisk and to the point. "She's not here right now, but if you'll give me a minute I can find out for you where she is. I just got here." "I've got a plane to catch. I don't have time. Give her these." Nick placed his service revolver, shoulder holster, and badge on the counter atop his resignation. Lapinsky recognized Nick's offering and his eyes got real big. "Detective Knight, I think you should wait until I can get in touch with the Captain. I know she's going to want to talk to you." Nick had already turned to leave. He stopped and went back to the desk. "Everything she needs to know is on the paper. Just give it to her." "But... " This time Nick was gone and he wasn't coming back to answer any more stupid questions. He was pressing it now. He would be lucky to get to the airport in time to be able to get through all the rigmarole so he could board the plane before departure. Nick took his seat on the plane headed for Chicago without a second thought of what he was leaving behind. He had ordered his heart not to think about any of it. He had his new life to worry about. Where was he going to go? Who was he going to become? He had booked a window seat, with the desire to watch Toronto shrink and fade from his sight. He had hoped it would give his departure a kind of finality. Nick hated to fly, but it was the fastest way out of this town. He feared if he didn't leave quickly, he would not leave at all. It was very important for him to do this for the benefit of all those involved, especially Natalie. He turned away from the window after Toronto was nothing more than just a light area on the dark horizon. "Would you like a drink, sir?" He shook his head. The stewardess moved on down the aisle, asking other passengers if they wanted anything. * * * Their waiting was interrupted by Cohen's cellular phone. "Captain Cohen... Okay... Thank you for letting me know... No, you did the right thing, Lapinsky. Bye." She flipped off the phone. Both Amanda Cohen and Don Schanke were waiting for news of Natalie's condition in the Scarborough General Hospital waiting room. "Well the mystery of what happened to Knight has just been solved. He turned in his badge about ten minutes ago on his way to catch a plane." This news so upset Schanke he jumped up and started pacing. "How do you like that guy? He just up and leaves without a word to anybody and Natalie in the condition she's in. You know, I thought we were really getting close . Guess you never really know someone else's life, do you?" "Don't you think you should be taking it easy, Schank? You haven't had all that long to recover from your injuries." "Oh, this." He pointed to his wounded side. "I'll be fine. It's Natalie I'm worried about. What's this gonna do to her when she finds out. If you ask me, something has been going on between those two lately. They were both acting real weird-like." Just then a rather young-looking man in scrubs walked up to the pair. "Hi, I'm Dr. Robertson. Are you here for Natalie Lambert?" Cohen rose from her seat, "I'm Police Captain Amanda Cohen and this is one of her co-workers, Detective Donald Schanke. How is Dr. Lambert doing?" Schanke stopped his frantic pacing and went over to stand and listen to the doctor's news. "She just got out of surgery. We were able to stop the bleeding for now. Her fall really caused a lot of internal damage. Now, all we can do is wait and see. It's in God's hands." "Thank you, Doctor." "I've got to go call Myra and let her know." He turned and headed for the pay phones without waiting for a response from his captain. "Schanke, you need your rest. Go home. I'll wait here and let you know if there's any change." Schanke stopped halfway across the room and turned back to Cohen. "Not on your life. Natalie needs me. She'll need all of our support when she wakes up from this. If Knight's not going to be here, I sure as hell will." He left no room for discussion on that point and Cohen didn't argue. * * * When Nick arrived in Chicago, he rented a car and a hotel room for the day. Later that night, he would start looking for an apartment and whatever else he was going to need in his new life. It wasn't important to him to find the vampire community, though he had heard there was quite a healthy population in this city. Nick would steer clear of them. They had nothing he wanted or needed and since Lacroix and Janette weren't here, there was absolutely no reason for him even try to contact them. He would not have had anything to do with the Toronto vampire community if it hadn't been for his "family". He settled into his new room in a different city, to sleep for the day. His dreams were disturbing ones that he wouldn't remember when he awoke from them. The only residue they would leave would be an uneasy feeling, which he had expected anyway. He would go on from this day to find each day's rest would be plagued by similar dreams, unwilling to show themselves to him in the darkness of night. end part 28 Robbi Knightie With Dark Tendencies Long Live the Knight egersdor@magiclink.com Robbi Knightie With Dark Tendencies Long Live the Knight egersdor@magiclink.com The Power in the Blood Part 29 By Robbi Egersdorf c 1996 It had been several decades since Nick last lived in Chicago. He had moved into a small one-room apartment in one of the taller apartment buildings on one of the floors near the top. He had paid six months' rent in advance. By the time six months would be up, he would know if he was going to settle in or be moving along. Whether he stayed in a place very long often depended on the people he met and the feel of things. He had almost reached the point of deciding there was nothing for him in Toronto, when he came across Natalie Lambert's autopsy table. He hadn't even settled into an identity at that time. Nick certainly wouldn't have stayed after the pipe bomb if it hadn't been for a certain lady who just wouldn't forget him. His mind toyed with the question, "Where would I be right now if... ?" That question was much safer than, "What would I be doing if I were still in Toronto?" or more importantly, "How is Natalie handling my being gone?" Whether he pictured her happy with someone else or upset at his leaving, the images these questions conjured in his mind were always disturbing. He had been going to the phone several times a day and standing with his hands on the receiver, trying to talk himself out of calling her. There were a few times when he had lost to his heart and called her anyway. On those occasions, the answering machine would pick up and he would hear a recording of her voice asking him to leave a message, then he would hang up. Nick hadn't been calling her quite so often in the last few days. He had managed to keep it down to only once a day. It had taken him nearly two weeks to get to this point. There were times when he felt the whole world was going to fly apart, while other days he almost felt as though things would be okay. Today just happened to be one of the bad days. The dreams had been relentless, leaving him exhausted from the lack of sleep. When night fell, he went up on the roof of his apartment building to look out on the city. He stared over the edge to the anonymous skyline of Chicago and the pulse of life that beat just under the surface. The sky was hazy with the smog of the city, giving the glow of the moon an orange-red hue as it hung in the sky above him. He closed his eyes in an attempt to filter out the anguish, the triumph, the myriad generic sounds that accompanied life in this city. He pictured himself back near his cave, under the water of the lake, wrapped in a cool and comforting cocoon of silence. He needed to quiet the turmoil in him or he would surely go insane. The last few days he had had the strange feeling of someone watching him, but there was never anyone there. He began to feel the presence again on the roof, but was alone. He had been unable to find the peace he so desperately sought. The pain was becoming so utterly unbearable. There was no one he could turn to, no one to understand or to listen to him. "Why do I keep going on? I have no right to live. Why not just end it all?" He screamed into the night, then fell silent. This time he heard a still, small voice echo in his being. It spoke to his very heart. "How dare you stand there and tell me you don't want to live without even giving a thought as to how that would make me feel. There is so much more to life you have not experienced." The voice had a familiar lilt to it. "Natalie?" He could not sense her familiar heartbeat anywhere near. Where could he be hearing her voice from? "Now I know I'm but a step away from descending into insanity." He squeezed his head between his hands in an attempt to silence the throng that continually ran through his head. "I made the right choice, didn't I? God help me, I love you Natalie Lambert. I love you." "If you love me, then come back to me." The still, small voice repeated in his head. He stood without moving or speaking for many minutes before he could gather himself enough to come down from the roof. Shortly after the last sentence the feeling left him and he felt more alone than he had in a very long time. Had he made a mistake? Is that what he had been trying to tell himself? It seemed that he couldn't live with this mortal woman, nor could he live without her. Wherever he went, she would be there with him. He could run to the ends of the earth and she would follow him. He was helplessly attached to that part of him that carried her deep inside him. Nick sat on the ledge of the skyscraper, hugging his knees to his chest. He squeezed his eyes shut in an attempt to keep the memory from coming, but he could not stop them. They thundered in his brain and ripped through the tender places in his heart. He could feel her going limp under him as he neared her neck, fully vamped, an irresistible lust for her blood pounding in him. "No, I cannot go back. I can't risk destroying her. Lacroix was right, to stay beyond your time is death. We would never be able to return to what we were before that night." He choked on the words as the realization hit him. The night became surreal in its light and feel. Why were the stars still shining? Why did the breeze still blow on its gentle way? It seemed that everything around him knew he had made a decision he had avoided making. Nick had been hiding in Chicago all this time without committing to actually moving on. He had kept a safety net. In case he decided to return, Nick could just step back into his life. What he had been experiencing was a kind of limbo until he knew for sure. That would be no more. Now he knew for sure. Tomorrow he would call and hire someone to store his things in Toronto and he would start looking for a job. The decision was a very painful thing, but once it was made it brought some peace to his mind. Nick turned and went back to his apartment to feed. He sat on the couch and downed two bottles of steer blood without stopping. Once that had settled into his stomach, he began to relax a little and sleep overtook him. For the first time since arriving in the states, he actually slept. * * * He slept peacefully until the next night. Nick was startled out of his slumber by the ringing of his doorbell. He stood up and looked around the room, disoriented and not recognizing where he was for a time. Then reality came thundering back into his mind and a shadow settled onto his heart. Again the doorbell sounded, demanding attention. "Just a minute. I'll be right there." Nick ran to the bathroom and splashed cold water on his face in an attempt to wipe the cobwebs from his mind. Finally, he answered the door. "Natalie." Nick's expression was totally blank. "Why have you come?" "I must to talk to you." She walked past him and sat on the couch where he had just been asleep. "Well, aren't you going to close the door?" "Oh." He looked around and saw the doorknob in his hand and was surprised by it. "Yes. Ah, make yourself at home. How did you find me?" "That is not important. What is important is the news I came to tell you. I'm pregnant." Nick's head began to spin and he found himself breathing fast and hard. He sat heavily on the floor right where had been standing. end part 29 Robbi Knightie With Dark Tendencies Long Live the Knight egersdor@magiclink.com The Power in the Blood Part 30 By Robbi Egersdorf c 1996 He awoke suddenly to find himself alone in his one room apartment in Chicago . He reached up and wiped the bloodsweat from his forehead. He could swear that he felt his heart pounding in his chest, but it was just the ghost of some sensation he had experienced while mortal. He absently ran his fingers through his hair. "That was so real. I never even considered. Could it be possible. If she became pregnant... I have to know how she is." He ran to the phone and feverishly dialed Natalie's number. "Damn!" Only and answering machine as ever before. "Schanke. He'll know how she is." Quickly, he dialed his ex- partners number. The woman's voice on the other end of the line informed him that her husband was on duty. Nick dialed the precinct and was put through to Schanke. "Schanke, this is Nick Knight. How's Natalie been?" "You've got some nerve calling me here." The voice of his friend was angry, and that confused Nick. "I have to know, how is Natalie?" "If you ever went to the hospital to visit, instead of running to God knows where... " "What?" Nick's voice was a little too surprised, a little to loud for Schanke's comfort. "You really don't know, do you?" "Know what? Tell me!" The anxiety began to rise into his throat. "If you had bothered to listen to your messages on your answering machine or talked to someone to say good-bye before you left you would know." Schanke slammed the phone down on its cradle as hard as he could. "Son of a B****!" He held his hand that stung from the force he had used on innocent object. Captain Cohen heard the noise and came running out of her office. "What's going on, Schanke. I want you in my office and I want an explanation, now." Schanke followed Cohen into her office and closed the door behind him, barely able to control the rage he felt at his old partner. "That was Nick on the phone. After all this time, he wants me to tell him how Natalie is. He didn't know she's in the hospital, he doesn't even know about her accident." He was pacing the small space in her office, too upset to sit still. "Calm down, Detective. We have no idea what went on between those two or what was going on in his life to bring him to the decision to leave. We certainly don't have enough of the story to go making such harsh judgements on the actions of another person. He gave us precious little regarding his motive for leaving in his letter of resignation. Wait until all the facts are in before jumping to conclusions. If you solved crimes the way you handled Knight on the phone, you would be writing parking tickets all day." Her authoritative voice had a calming effect on Schanke. "You're right, of course. I just can't see anything being so important that you can walk out on everybody who cares about you without a word. There's nothing." He stood and walked to the door. "Schanke, give it time. We may never find out what happened. Just think about it." Schanke left her office, closing the door behind him without replying to her words. This was a hard one to figure. Amanda Cohen honestly couldn't come up with a good enough reason herself. "Captain Cohen, there's a call on line one for you. He says it's urgent." A voice crackled over her intercom on the phone. "Thanks, Jackson." Cohen picked up the phone and punched the blinking button for line one. "This is Captain Cohen speaking. May I help you?" "This is Nick Knight. I've got to know, what happened?" Nick's voice was tight with regret and worry. "I listened to the messages on my answering machine after talking to Schanke. I didn't know or I never would have... " Everything went silent on the other end. "Calm down Nick. The news isn't good. After I tell you, you'll understand why Schanke was so angry. Nick, Natalie fell down the stairs in her apartment the day you left. They said she tripped on a child's toy. It was a good thing for her someone was there to get help for her right away or she could have bled to death." The silence continued as Nick gathered himself from the shock, an extremely uncomfortable feeling spread through his body. He held the receiver in front of him, just staring at it, disbelieving of the knowledge it had just carried to him. All this time he had been feeling sorry for himself, Natalie had needed him and he hadn't been there. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, bracing himself for the next bit of news. "How is she now? " He held his breath and waited. It had to be bad news or Cohen would have told him right up front. "She has never regained consciousness." There was no response to her words , just the sound of someone dropping the phone on the other end. end part 30 Robbi Knightie With Dark Tendencies Long Live the Knight egersdor@magiclink.com The Power in the Blood Part 31 By Robbi Egersdorf c 1996 Natalie in the hospital! Natalie unconscious! All of his problems suddenly disappeared and all of his energies became focused on Natalie and getting to her in the least possible time. He didn't take anything from his apartment, he didn't even remember if he closed the door or locked it. It really didn't matter, what mattered was getting to Toronto. At the airport, he found he had barely missed the regularly scheduled flight to Toronto. He was forced to charter an emergency flight and that meant rousing the pilot out of bed and offering double the usual price to get him going. It still took too long for Nick, what with fueling, filing a flight plan and getting approval, pre-flight inspections and such. The waiting seemed as an eternity to him. The whole time his skin itched to be there with Natalie. He felt so helpless. Now that he knew, there was no way he could blame Schanke for being so rude to him on the phone. He made a phone call to talk to Schanke just before departing. "Schanke, this is Nick again." "Give me a good reason not to hang up." The anger was still there in his partner's voice. "No! Don't hang up on me. I honestly didn't know about Natalie. I'm coming into Toronto tonight. I've chartered a plane. Can you pick me up at the Island Airport in about an hour and a half and take me to the hospital?" There was no response from the other end. "I have got to see her and you. I need to talk to you too, to explain." " ...All right. I'll be there." "Thanks, buddy. Believe me, 90 minutes is too long, but I'll see you then." Schanke hung up the phone. It finally came time to board. Flying in larger planes was hard for Nick, but this small plane he chartered was doubly unnerving. He had tried to charter a Lear jet, but they wouldn't even talk to him at this time of night . The ride was rough. Every jerk and bounce of the plane worried Nick, not that he had anything to worry about. He sat, clutching the armrests the whole way. It was just himself and the pilot on this flight. The pilot kept trying to start a conversation with Nick. Nick's brief, curt answers discouraged him for a while and the pilot finally turned on a CD of Garth Brooks. Nick wished he could have flown himself. He made the decision to charter a flight simply because a flight that far would drain his energies. Nick wanted to have his strength and wits about him upon his arrival in Toronto. He stared out at the clouds passing the plane and tried to imagine he was flying instead of riding in such a small, rickety plane. "Something's really bothering you, isn't it." The pilot's curiosity got the best of him and he tried to talk again. "Bad news from back home." Nick continued to stare out into the night. "I know how that is." "My sister over in Jersey, always has something going on. It's a good thing I own a plane... " Nick didn't really listen to what the pilot was saying, he was too busy thinking about Natalie lying in a hospital bed for the past two weeks, alone . "Thanks for flying with me. Hope you'll use us again. Thanks for the big tip. I could really use the money, you know what I mean." Nick stepped out of the plane. "Yeah." Nick found Schanke waiting near the front door of the Island Airport as they had prearranged. He made no greeting, nor did Schanke speak a word to Nick as he showed him the way to his car. "Schank, I'm sorry. I didn't know." They had just gotten into Schanke's car. Schanke started the engine then sat silent for a couple minutes. "Where do you get off running out on everybody like that?" He looked over at Nick. "Say something to make me understand because I just don't get it." He pulled out of the parking area and onto the street, heading for the hospital . "I don't have anything to say. I've been an idiot. I really thought I was doing the right thing." "You were wrong." "I was wrong, but I'm back now ready to do anything I need to to make up for my poor judgement. This leaving without a word, well... it's kind of a habit I've gotten into over the years. I've never been so tied to a place as I am to this one. The whole time I was gone, I wished I was here." Schanke didn't say another word to Nick until they arrived at the hospital, but he was mulling over everything Nick had said. "I've got to get back to the shop." "Tell Captain Cohen to tear up my resignation. I'll be in tomorrow night to talk to her." Nick stood watching Schanke's taillights disappear around the corner before he went into the hospital. "I just got into town. I need to see Natalie Lambert." The nurse at the desk noted this gentleman's desperate expression. "I can't let you see her now." "You've got to let me see her. I'm her... finance. I didn't hear about her accident until earlier tonight and I need to see her." "Go home, get some rest. Come back tomorrow and we'll let you in to see her ." The nurse turned back to the chart he was writing in. Nick focused on the nurse's heartbeat and caught his attention. "It is important to the patient that I see her." The nurse's eyes lost their focus and his face lost all expression. "Important to see her. Yes, you must see her." He shook his head and blinked his eyes. "Right this way, sir. I'm glad you arrived. It's important that you see her." "Thank you." The nurse led Nick to Natalie's room. He stood at her door and looked in. She lay positioned on the bed on her side, propped with pillows. She looked so peaceful, like an angel lying there as if she were only sleeping. "Can you tell me about her condition?" "She fell down a flight of stairs about two weeks ago. When they brought her in she was bleeding internally. They had to go in twice to get the bleeding stopped. They weren't sure she was going to make it at first." A stabbing pain shot through Nick's chest at the realization Natalie could have died and he would have never known. If he hadn't had that dream about her, he would have never known about any of this. "Why is she still unconscious?" "That is really baffling the doctors. There is no physical reason for her to be in a coma. They did x-rays and CT-scans on her and there was no concussion or intracranial bleeding present. That's all I can tell you." Nick started to enter the room and the nurse pulled him back. "Talk to her. Maybe she will be able to hear you. You might just be able to pull her back to the real world. That's why it's important for you to see her. Call if you need anything. You can stay as long as you want." The nurse was now content that his patient was in good hands and went back to the nurse's station and the chart he had been working on. end part 31 Robbi Knightie With Dark Tendencies Long Live the Knight egersdor@magiclink.com The Power in the Blood Part 32 By Robbi Egersdorf c 1996 He walked into the room and approached her bed. There were chairs in the room so he pulled one close up by her side and sat. He gently stroked her hair back out of her eyes. "Natalie, how you doing? I just heard you were in the hospital and thought I would drop by to see you." "There's so much I wanted to say to you... " He put a hand over his mouth and sobs wracked his body at the rest of the thought that remained unspoken, <...and now I may never have the chance.> "Tell them to her then. She can hear you." Nick spun around to see a woman standing at the door. Her hair was snow white, but her face told him she was no more than 50, if that. Nick could feel the compassion eminating from this woman's very countenance. She approached him and stood watching Natalie as she lay, unmoving. "Hi, my name is JoAnn Lent. I'm a nurse's aide in this unit. And you are... ?" "Call me Nick. I'm Natalie's... fiance." He turned back to look at Natalie . She put her hands on his shoulders in support. "Nice to meet you Nick. I've been working with Natalie since she arrived. It's been my job to bathe her, comb her hair and keep her comfortable. I can just feel what a special lady she is. One of my duties is to passively move all her joints and muscles to keep them ready for when she wakes up. It's time for me to do that right now." Nick stood from the chair. "Do you want me to leave?" JoAnn smiled. "No, I was hoping you could help me. I'll show you how it's done, then I'll let you do it." She pulled one of Natalie's hands from under the covers, careful to support the limb and started with one of Natalie's fingers. "We start with all the joints of the fingers, working the joint one way till we feel a little resistance, then we go the other way , very gently. This is repeated ten times before we move on to the next joint, until every joint in the body has been worked. Now there, see how easy that is. You give it a try." "I might hurt her." "I know you wouldn't hurt her. I can see the tenderness and love you have for her. Just do it from your heart and you can't hurt her." Her voice was so soft and understanding that it brought tears to Nick's eyes. With the confidence that she gave him he reached for Natalie's hand. "Be careful to support her hand while you work her fingers, just like this." Tenderly, he took her hand in his and systematically began to work each joint of each finger in passive range of motion. The simple act of doing this one thing for her helped him to feel a little less helpless. "I always talk to her. She's a very good listener, you know." Nick looked into JoAnn's face and smiled. "She has always been a very special friend to me. Thank you for being so kind to her." On JoAnn's insistance, he began to talk to Natalie as they did Natalie's ROM . He spoke about his travel to Chicago, how lonely he had been, how much he had missed her and Toronto. He reminisced about their adventures of the past five years, careful not to let out any of his secrets in front of the aide as she oversaw his work. When he had finished at her feet and placed the sheet back over her, Nick kissed Natalie's forehead. "Now you can rest, Nat." "That wasn't so hard, now was it. I knew you wouldn't hurt her, you care too much for her. I can sense these things." She turned and left them alone, closing the door behind her. Nick reached for Natalie's hand and gently held it as he sat beside her bed. Another benefit of helping in her treatment, he wasn't afraid of her any longer. "You're a very lucky woman to have someone like that taking care of you." He placed a soft kiss to the back of her hand. "I've missed you something terrible, Nat. I was so stupid to leave like that." She lay in her peaceful slumber, floating somewhere between the present and eternity. She was enveloped in a warm and comforting environment, unwilling or maybe unable to face the world and the pain it held for her. Nick sat with her the whole day, unwilling to leave her side except when the nurses shooed him out for personal cares and medications. Nick made them explain everything they were going to do to her before he would leave and allow them to work with her. He did this both for his benefit and for Natalie's. He would not cover the windows in her room, to deprive Natalie of the warmth and light of the sun. He just had to be ever so careful to avoid these things himself. When night fell and he was able to leave the hospital again, he kissed Natalie on the forehead. "I've got to leave for a short time, but I'll be back soon." He left the room with a gentle swish of the air. His first stop was the loft where he showered and changed his clothes. Then he went looking for a supply of animal blood to maintain his strength. After he had taken his fill and stocked his fridge, he left for the 96th Precinct to see Captain Cohen, as he had promised. "I have no excuse. I plead temporary insanity, Captain. I don't know what came over me, I just know it's over. Give me another chance." Nick sat in Cohen's office, fidgeting nervously with his hands. Amanda Cohen could see the pain and regret in her star detective's eyes. How could she say no. She didn't understand what had happened and probably never would, but she could say for sure that it was over. "Okay, but talk to me the next time you get a wild hair to leave. All of this could have been avoided if you had just talked to me. Understand?" "Yes, ma'am. And, by the way, I need some time off." "You just get back from a leave of absence and you want more time off?" "I have to spend every minute I can with Natalie. It's important. The most important thing in my life right now." He pleaded with his eyes. "You understand, don't you?" How could she refuse him this one thing. "Yes, I understand. All right. Just let me know if there's any change, promise me that." She was worried for Natalie too. The Captain knew this was something both Nick and Natalie needed, though she wasn't really sure it would do either of them any good. Knowing Nick would be a basket case if he was made to spend time on the job right now was a major factor in her decision. "Give her my love." Nick smiled then left her office. He stopped by Natalie's apartment to make sure everything was all right there. He had been glad to find one of Natalie's neighbors had been faithfully caring for Sydney. end part 32 Robbi Knightie With Dark Tendencies Long Live the Knight egersdor@magiclink.com The Power in the Blood Part 33 By Robbi Egersdorf c 1996 Nick found the keys to the caddy in Natalie's apartment and for the sake of appearances, drove it to the hospital. When he arrived back at the hospital , he took up his station by her bedside to watch over her slumber. "I'm back just like I said I would be." Nick leaned over and placed a kiss Natalie. At first he had found it strange talking to her as she lay unconscious, not even sure she could hear him, but now it came as second nature. He picked up her brush and started to brush her hair as JoAnn had shown him to do. He knew Natalie had always been careful to keep her hair looking nice and now when she was unable to do that for herself, he felt a duty to do it for her. As he brushed her hair, he spoke to her. "I really want to thank you for the day in the sun that you gave me. It was the most wonderous gift. It wasn't the first time you gave me the gift of daylight, was it? Do you remember the Litovuterine-B? You called it a fix. Now you've cured me twice, I have no doubt you can do it again and next time it may be permanent. All of this has taught me something. Even if it isn't permanent, I should enjoy what I have while I have it. I know I have taken you for granted. You've really changed my life in the past five years." Natalie was totally aware of every word Nick was saying to her. She could feel the acceptance and gratitude pulling her back down and into reality. "I'm sorry I have been so selfish. It's just that it was so hard to go back once you showed me how beautiful our lives together could be. You're such a special lady. There's so much you have to offer this world. Natalie, you can't go away and leave it yet. There is so much for you to do." Natalie remembered their lovemaking and how painful it had been once it was over and she was left all alone to deal with the memories. She ignored Nick's urgings to return, pulling back up and away from her former world. "I was too absorbed in the pain to be grateful for what I had." She could hear the break in his voice as he explained and she felt a draw to him to comfort him. She resisted the urge as she always did. What he needed wasn't comforting, he needed someone who didn't condone his self-pity , who would shake him into accepting what was given him and to make the most of the rich and varied life he had been given. From what she could see, he had wasted too much of his 767 years in regrets and guilt. Nick walked around to face her and knelt at her eye level in order to look into her face. "I miss you, I miss you so much. You're the only person who ever treated me like there was good in me, like I was human. Right now, you must fight to come back and I'm here to help you. You have to face this world and all its pain in order to sample its joys." Natalie hadn't realized it before, but that was exactly what she had been doing. She had been hiding from her life. Hiding, not only from the pain but the joys. She let the warmth and security of her floating world wash over her once again as she relished its sweet release. "Fight, Natalie. You can do it, you can face your life again and I will be here with you. Life is a beautiful thing. The only reason pain exists, is to give us an appreciation of the joys. You've shown me that. Now it's time for me to give you something back." This time, Natalie allowed herself to be pulled back down and into her body. It felt as if she had been slammed into a brick wall. All too soon, she became aware of the pain that wracked her physical body. She began to stir and moan. "It hurts." She slowly opened her eyes to see Nick watching her. It took a few seconds for her eyes to focus on his beautiful face. She closed her eyes and grimaced. "What's happened to me? I hurt." Nick let out a sigh of relief and tears came unbidden to his eyes. She opened her eyes again to see his beautiful deep blue eyes and the most marvelous smile she had ever seen staring her in the face. She reached over and wiped a tear that was trailing its way down Nick's cheek. "Why the tears?" "Natalie, I was so worried. You fell down some stairs and have been unconscious ever since. You're in the hospital and have been for two weeks. " She swallowed, her mouth dry as cotton. "That's not possible." Her voice was a bare whisper. Weakness overcame her again and sleep took her away. It was a hard thing to accept this shell again and to feel its pain; but Nick was right, it was necessary for her to do what she wanted with her life and he gave her a reason to live, to go on when it seemed too painful to continue. "Nurse, nurse!" Nick yelled, then turned on the call light and Natalie's nurse was in the room quickly. "What is it?" "She just woke up and spoke to me. She's finally awake. Where's JoAnn, I want to tell her the good news. I haven't seen her today. Is she off?" The nurse looked at Nick with a puzzled expression. "I don't know of any JoAnn. Who is she?" "She said she worked here as an aide on this unit. She stands maybe 5'3'', white hair, 50ish, very compassionate face. Don't you know her?" "I don't know of anyone that fits that description and I've worked her for 15 years. I need to go get the doctor, I'll be right back." The nurse left to go call the doctor. Had his mind been playing tricks on him? Did he conjure up a fantastical being to be his companion as he sat with Natalie? What had just happened here? Was he losing his mind? Could it be possible that an angel or similar being had been sent by the keeper of the universe for Natalie and he had been blessed to witness the miracle? There had been nothing repulsive to his vampire nature during contact with her. There was no burning, no discomfort with her touch as he imagined would occur in the presence of a divine being. There had only been the warmth and caring that emanated from the woman. "Well Natalie, I do believe you had yourself an angel watching over you. How do you like that?" It never once occurred to him she might have been there for his benefit as well. It was so much easier to watch her lay there and rest, knowing she was really sleeping and would awaken soon. Nick gave himself permission to leave her side long enough to use the phone to call all interested parties and let them know the good news. The danger had passed and Natalie was going to be all right. The doctor was in examining Natalie when Nick returned. "From what I can tell, she's fine now. We never really understood why she hadn't regained consciousness. The cause was never physical in nature. If all goes well and there are no more complications, she'll be able to go home soon." "Thanks, doc." end part 33 Robbi Knightie With Dark Tendencies Long Live the Knight egersdor@magiclink.com The Power in the Blood Part 34 By Robbi Egersdorf c 1996 "Hey, you're awake. How do you feel?" Nick leaned over her and stroked her hair back. Natalie had slept for a couple hours then ventured to wake to the real world once again. "Rough. You think I can get something to eat. I'm hungry enough to eat a horse." She pulled herself up to a sitting position and her head began to spin. Nick was right there by her side. "Are you all right?" He supported her until the buzzing stopped. She nodded her head. "It's going to take me time to get used to being up again. I feel like I was hit by a truck. I fell down the stairs, you say?" "Yeah, Cohen said you tripped on a child's toy. It was a good thing someone found you right away or you would have bled to death." Natalie put a hand up to her forehead. "That was some wild ride." Her face lightened with the memory of something. "I dreamt you went to Chicago for good. I remember seeing you on top of a building talking about ending your life. I was so angry with you... strange." A chill shot through Nick and his skin tingled as the hair on the back of his neck stood up. She had really been there with him on the rooftop that night, somehow she had been there. For better or worse, they were tied together in some unimaginable way for the duration of their lives and there would be no severing of that tie. "What? You look like you saw a ghost." "Maybe I'll tell you someday. Right now, I think I'll go see what I can get for you to eat. I'll just bet they'll want to start you out on soup. They'll make you wait for the horse until tomorrow when you're stronger." Nick smiled and left the room. "Can I come in?" Grace stood at the door, looking in at her friend and partner. "Nick called and said you were awake. You really gave us a scare, girl." "Come, sit. How are things? I still can't believe I've been out for two weeks." She shook her head in disbelief. "Well, it's still there. Everyone's been praying for you." "Tell everyone I appreciate it." "I've got something from all the gang." Grace unfolded the banner she had been holding. It read, "Get well quick." "Everybody signed it. Where you want it?" "How about over here by the bed, where I can see it." Grace pulled out the tape she had brought and went to work hanging the banner. Nick reentered the room. "Hi Grace. That's great. Nat, the nurse called down to the kitchen and they'll be bringing you a bowl of chicken noodle soup and fruit juice. If you tolerate that well and are still hungry, she'll get you something more substantial. She agrees with me, no horse until tomorrow." Natalie giggled and Grace gave her a questioning look. "Oh, it was just a joke." "I see. Well, I better get going. This is my lunchbreak. Lots of work waiting for me, with you gone." The large, black woman gave Natalie a hug. "It's good to have you back." "It's good to be back." Grace met Schanke at the door as she was leaving. "Can I join the party or is it by invitation only?" "Schanke, come on in. You're always welcome." He pulled a mug of get well flowers from behind his back and set them on her bedside table. "Those are for you. Myra picked them out. How are you?" "Thanks. That was thoughtful. I'm still a little groggy yet, but getting better all the time." Just then the nurse walked into the room with a tray and Natalie's soup. Natalie asked Schanke, "Would you care to join me? I'm having the house special, chicken noodle soup." "I'll pass." He wrinkled his nose at the thought of hospital chicken noodle soup. "I just ate, thanks." "Come sit and talk to me." "I have to get going. I've got places to go, perps to chase and all that rot. Myra's going to be so glad to hear you're okay." "How is she?" "Oh, same-ole-same-ole. She's got her work, the house, the kid. You know how it is." "And you." The nurse had set up the tray on her over-the-bed table and Natalie began to eat. "Are you're sure you don't want any? It's great stuff." "I don't think so. See you later. Nick?" Schanke motioned for Nick to follow him out into the hall. "Is she really okay, I mean is there going to be any permanent damage?" He whispered for fear Natalie would hear their conversation. "The doctor assured me she was going to be fine. She'll probably be able to go home soon. Don't worry, the worst is over." Nick clasped Schanke on the shoulder. "I'm glad. I'm glad you came to your senses and are going to stay with us." He smiled at his partner, his eyes becoming a little misty. "Guess I'll be seeing you around." By the time Nick had returned Natalie had eaten about half her soup and drank all of her juice. "Now I feel much better." She pushed the table over to the side of her bed and swung her legs over the edge to dangle. She wavered and Nick was there at her side, ready to catch her. "Are you sure you're ready to get up?" "If you think I'm going to stay in this bed another minute, you've got another think coming. That chair over there looks good. Help me to it." Nick helped her put on her slippers and supported Natalie as she ambulated over to the chair, a mere five steps from the bed. Natalie felt as though she had made a major accomplishment by the time she sat down. "Ah, now that's much better." She fixed Nick with a serious stare. "We have to talk ." "Not now, not until you get back on your feet." "No, we are going to talk _now_. If we are to go on like we have been, there has to be an understanding between us. Besides, I want to know what I'm getting myself into if I agree to continue on with this quest of yours." Nick closed the door to her room and pulled the other chair in the room over next to Natalie's. "Okay, I'm listening. What is it you need to know?" "You know that whole Valentine thing? Well I didn't like that one bit. The thought of Lacroix doing... well, I didn't like that helpless feeling. I want you to be honest with me. How many times has something like that happened to me?" "Just the one time, I swear." "Good, I'm glad of it. That has really been worrying me, not knowing when something would pop into my head and change everything. That was a real weird experience, I hope you know. Now, onto the next thing. This is real important. I have to know, how much danger am I in knowing about you? I really don't believe you've been totally honest with me regarding this subject. I've caught bits and pieces, but I need to know if I'm going to make an informed choice here." Choice. Just that word made Nick's stomach contract. After all they had been through, could she really choose to live without him? "Well, there are those of us who would rather kill a mortal who discovers our existence and can't be whammied out of the knowledge. I have tried to protect you from that, but I can never be 100% certain I will always be there. Then there's the Enforcers. They're an ancient group of powerful vampires who's job it is to keep the knowledge of our existence from the general population of humanity. Unless you are thinking about going public with your discoveries, you have little to fear from them. That is why I made you swear your silence when we first met. It was out of a concern for your safety as well as mine own." Natalie sat and listened to what Nick had to say. "Well, I appreciate you being honest with me. There is a lot about what you are that you have never told me." Natalie raised an eyebrow at him, almost as though she were inviting an immediate full discloser of the vampire bible, but Nick remained silent. "I need to think about what you've told me and you need to go home and get some rest." Nick started to protest and she held up her hand to silence him. "I need time to rest and think about this. Please?" Nick nodded and started to get up to go. Natalie reached out and held his arm. "If I decide to continue our search for a cure and allow you to stay in my life, I want you to promise me one thing." Nick sat back down in the chair. "Anything." "I want you to promise me, if anything ever happens... " She watched Nick's eyes closely for their reaction. "I want you to be the one to do it." "Do what, kill you? Anything but that!" He was totally stunned that she would ask such a thing of him. She knew his code, to kill no more. "How could I ever take your life?" "You wouldn't have to take my life, you could bring me across." "Absolutely not, Nat. You know I would never condemn you to the darkness that has been my life these past eight centuries." "That does not matter. I just want you to promise me, if I have to die, you will be the one. I couldn't live with the possibility that just anyone would kill me. Promise me." There was a pause and Nick did not move to answer her. "How can you ask this of me?" "How can I not? Think about it. How can you ask me to risk my life for you and you not be willing to do something this important for me? Promise me." Nick turned from Natalie and stood silently as his conscience warned him not to accept this burden. Truely, how could he ask her to risk her life and let her die at the hands of a stranger or enemy? He rolled his head back and squeezed his eyes shut. "I promise, if it is ever required that you die , I will be the one to do it." Against his better judgement and all he believed and had strived for in the past 100 years, he promised her. His soft voice carried to her ears just how hard this was for him to promise her and she was satisfied he would remain true to his word. It spoke volumes to her of the magnitude of commitment he was willing to carry for her. Natalie's face relaxed considerably and she closed her eyes while laying back in the chair. "Thank you. Now I can rest." Gently, Nick picked Natalie up in his strong arms and placed her in the bed, covering her with the spread. He placed a lingering kiss on her temple. She did not stir, just settled into the sheets to sleep. "I promise you this one thing on my honor as a knight and protector of all that is good and just." end part 34 Robbi Knightie With Dark Tendencies Long Live the Knight egersdor@magiclink.com The Power in the Blood Epilogue By Robbi Egersdorf c 1996 When she walked back into the morgue, her first day back since her accident, she was overwhelmed. There were banners, balloons and flowers. She didn't have to read the card to know who they came from. The flowers were wildflowers. The card read, "Welcome back, Love Nick". She wasn't surprised. Nick walked in on Natalie who had been rather busy since she had returned to work. Death stopped for no man. "Are you glad you're back?" She looked up from the cross-sections she had been preparing. "Oh, Nick. Welcome to Doctor Lambert's dungeon of horrors." She had been expecting him just as soon as the sun was down enough for him to be out and about. "Dungeon of horrors? It's a little early for Halloween, isn't it?" "Don't be silly. It's always Halloween around here, complete with dead bodies and vampires." She went over to the cabinet and reached in to get more slides. "Very funny. So how has your day been so far?" Nick walked over and leaned against the counter, folding his arms in front of him. "Busy, but good. I'm glad to be back. Nick, I never had a chance to thank you for what you did for me while I was in the hospital." "Your thanks should go to JoAnn." "Who's JoAnn?" "Never mind. I can't tell you how glad I am that you decided to let me stay a part of your life." She stopped cutting on the corpse in front of her and turned to face Nick. "You just remember your end of the bargain." "Don't worry. That's something that will stay with me forever. Who do we have here?" "Caucasian, male, 72, died of natural causes. Since natural causes is not an acceptable cause of death, I have to define it." She put down the scalpel and went to the sink. After removing her gloves and washing, she dried her hands then turned to Nick. "I've been thinking about the cure, you know, the one that almost was . Now that we know where all the bugs are, we can really make it work this time. Instead of taking it for granted the vampire is dead we could..." Nick put his finger to Natalie's lips to silence them. "Is it okay if I take a rest for a while? This last time almost did me in. Ya know what I mean?" Natalie smiled and Nick returned the smile. "I think I know what you're saying." "Did I tell you how glad I am that you decided to let me stay a part of your life?" Nick brushed a stray hair out of her face. "Yes, only about six or seven times. So, I guess it's back to business as usual." Nick's eyebrows knit together in a scowl. "I guess, if that's all we are allowed right now. I'll take whatever I can get." His eyes became distant as he remembered... Natalie smiled back at him and the smile faded as she too remembered the real reason she was putting her life on the line for this man she had met some five years ago and who had stolen her heart so totally and completely. If she had wanted her heart back, she would have never been able to find it anyway. Like it or not, she was tied to Nick Knight or whatever he chose to call himself; until the day she died. the end Robbi Knightie With Dark Tendencies One of the few, the proud, the Jamie-Packers Long Live the Knight egersdor@magiclink.com