FicWad

Title: Incarnations of Immortality
Author: TheBear!
Crossover: XF/HL/FK
Pairings: M/S N/N T/V
161,428 words
15-Apr-02

Disclaimer—I don’t own any of it.

=====

Chapter 2

Nicks Loft

3:10 p.m. Sunday December 10th

Nick roused from a nightmare and sat up with a gasp, his body dripping in blood-sweat. He had been stuck in a swirling mishmash of images- images filled with blood and terror, but in them he had seemed to be the observer rather than the instigator. He tried to sort out the images in his mind as best he could and what he began to see was something that he had never thought of before. He saw his old partner Schanke being shot, and himself not being able to reach the shooter in time, he saw himself not quite reaching, falling short, showing up just a little too late, failing to save people that he knew he had rescued over the past several years. He saw a myriad of incidents that he had successfully resolved in reality, but in his dream, he wasn't able to stop the horrors from occurring. Finally, as he heard a loud roaring in his ears, the images culminated in seeing himself enter that greenhouse where Roger Jamison was going to rape Natalie, but this time he got there just after Roger was done, instead of just before he started.

Natalie was asleep on the couch downstairs. She and Nick had stayed up until nearly 8 a.m. discussing the extraordinary events of the previous night, including the unusual events surrounding the autopsy. She woke up to the anguished sound of Nick roaring her name at the top of his lungs. She rushed up the stairs to his bedroom door. She heard Nick sobbing and it tore at her heart. She knocked at the door and opened it, calling his name softly "Nick? Nick, are you alright?" The scene in front of her scared her as much as it saddened her- Nick was sitting on his bed, his bare chest covered in a fine sheen of blood, his mouth hanging open, fangs dropped and a high-pitched keening pouring out. His eyes were glowing red and blood-tears were running down his face and dripping onto his chest and stomach. He seemed to be lost in thought and didn't even notice her presence.

"Oh Nick…" he heard Nat whisper under her breath as he snapped back to reality. He looked at her through a haze of red and realized what condition he was in. He stood up suddenly and walked away into the corner of his room, facing away from her, "Don't look at me, Natalie. Please. Give me a moment to put myself together" he said as he wrapped his arms around his chest tightly. He knew that if she touched him it would be over. He would sink his teeth into that lovely ivory neck and drain the last drop of her precious life into himself to fill the aching void he was feeling.

She took a half step toward him and heard his tortured whisper "Please Nat, I don't think I could stop…” She just nodded, knowing that he couldn't see her but unable to form any words, and walked out and down the stairs. She walked to his refrigerator and pulled out the first green bottle she saw and poured a big glass of it for him. She so desperately wanted to be able to comfort him, but she knew that she wasn't what he needed. Wasn't who he wanted. She choked down her own sob and determined that she would do whatever she could do, and ignore what she couldn't do, to help. He needed a friend and she would be that friend, even though she wanted to be so much more.

Nick took a quick shower and tried to put the images from his dream out of his mind. He knew what had caused his failure in each of those scenes playing out in his mind- he was human. He was convinced that the Beast in him was trying to poison his desire to be human, trying to get him to give up his quest. Maybe it was LaCroix. Maybe LaCroix was sending these images to him to try and… He tried to ignore the little voice deep inside his head that was telling him that maybe he needed to think about what the consequences of his quest would be if he succeeded. Negative consequences as well as positive ones.

Nick shook himself out of his reverie and finished drying himself off and getting dressed. He never once met his own gaze in the mirror as he dried and combed his hair. He slowly walked down the stairs and saw Natalie sitting at the table, the chair across from her pulled out and a large glass of blood on the table in front of it. Her eyes were fixed on the glass and she didn't seem willing to look at him as descended and sat at the table. "Natalie, I…" he started to say.

She interrupted and said, "Drink." When he hesitated she finally moved her eyes to his and said, "Drink, then talk."

He could smell her blood- like mulled, spiced wine- and it was all he could do to choke down the bovine swill before him. He did feel a little better for having done so, however. He looked up at her and saw her patiently waiting for him to speak. "She is so beautiful," he thought, staring at her face, her mass of brunette curls framing it, her neck like pale ivory, the pulse of her life's blood visible against the soft skin of her throat. He felt himself becoming aroused, he felt the vampire becoming aroused as well. He heard his own voice saying, "It was just a nightmare Nat."

She heard his voice, knowing it was a lie the moment it fell out of his mouth. It was clearly more than just a nightmare. She also saw his eyes fixed on her throat, caressing it like the lips of a lover. She noticed tiny flecks of gold starting to form in the green of his eyes. She also felt the affect his gaze had on her body- her nipples were hardening, and she was starting to feel warm and damp at the juncture of her thighs. She cursed her body for its betrayal of her desire, knowing his heightened senses could detect it.

Nick Knight had an epiphany.

He realized suddenly and for the first time that Natalie Lambert wanted him. Not just a little. Not mildly attracted to him or slightly fond of him but desperately in love with him. Looking back over the past several years, he realized that she wanted him all along. In fact, in retrospect he discovered that her desire for him was obvious- obvious to everyone but him. How could he have been so thickheaded? He knew that he was very often slow to catch on, but 6 years? "What a complete moron I am!" he yelled at himself.

"Oh God," Natalie thought to herself. “I’m going to lose it!” She had to get out of there. Now. She felt that if she failed to leave immediately she was going to collapse and bawl her eyes out. She plastered her best fake smile on her face and stood up, “Look Nick, I’ve got to go home and clean myself up. And I’m sure Sidney is waiting to be fed, and I’ll call you later, Ok? Thanks for letting me crash here last night, I was beat.” She couldn’t seem to stop the verbal hemorrhaging from her mouth as she swiftly walked to the elevator and got in.

Nick had two other thoughts as he watched her close the door of the elevator and begin the descent to the ground outside. One was that maybe mortality was not the key to his atonement. The other was that Natalie would feel betrayed if he told her he didn’t want to be mortal.

He wasn’t looking forward to that conversation at all.

===== X-FILES ===== FOREVER KNIGHT ===== HIGHLANDER =====

International Plaza Hotel

3:10 p.m. Sunday December 10th

Mulder sat at the table slowly sipping his iced tea as he considered what Scully had told him. The body was in perfect condition. Not counting the missing head, of course, and the burnt neck- which Scully couldn’t explain, though she still didn’t seem to accept his explanation of events. But the body, no scars- not even a vaccination scar- no healed injuries, no breakdown of any tissues or organs- a total lack of the normal wear and tear that is part of life as we know it.

“He would have had to have lived with a perfect diet and exercise… no, even then gravity would have had some effect on him,” Scully said, frustrated by her inability to come up with even a theory as to how this could be scientifically explained. “I suppose you think he was a vampire, Mulder?”

“Well, beheading is one of the given ways to kill a vampire, but nothing else seems to fit. I’ve never heard of vampires engaging in sword fights, and you didn’t find anything unusual with the teeth, did you?” Mulder asked.

“No, Mulder. There was nothing unusual about the teeth, except that there was no evidence of any dental work ever being done. No caps, bridges, fillings or otherwise.” she answered.

“Do you think it could be a clone, Scully?” Mulder asked, his voice low and quiet.

“Dammit! Only Mulder could make that question sound sexy,” Scully thought furiously to herself. Out loud she said, “If it was a clone, Mulder, it was unlike any other we have seen.”

“Yeah, no gas, no melting into green ooze, etc…” Mulder muttered. “Is there anything else we can do at this point?

“Well, the DNA results should come back tomorrow or Tuesday, but I don’t seriously expect anything unusual from that.

“Why not?” Mulder asked.

“The standard forensic tests don’t look for much beyond identification” she replied.

“We should…” Mulder started to say.

Scully interrupted, “Already done, Mulder. The Gunmen should get the DNA sample by tomorrow morning” she said with a small grin.

Mulder just stared at her for several seconds. “Maybe she really is psychic,” he thought.

Seeing his widened eyes and unblinking stare, Scully said, “I don’t require psychic powers to know you were going to suggest sending a sample to the Gunmen for a more ‘in depth’ analysis. Nor do I need it to know that your next thought was going to be some smart comment about my being psychic.”

Mulder calmed down after a moment of near panic and realized that if Scully were psychic she would have been slapping his face approximately every 10 minutes for the past 5 years. He smiled sheepishly and said, “I don’t think anyone in my whole life has ever known me as well as you do, Scully.”

“Sometimes Mulder, I feel like I don’t know you at all.” she said to herself. “We have about 24 hours before our first course at the seminar, Mulder. Any ideas on how to fill that time?” Scully asked with a raised brow.

That was a loaded question! “Oh boy, I’m sure glad I wore a loose pair of trousers today,” Mulder thought. “Actually Scully, I do.” Mulder said with a leer, “but your going to have to change clothes first.”

Scully’s eyebrow climbed even higher as she said, “Why Agent Mulder, are you propositioning me? Whatever did you have in mind?”

Mulder managed to reply smoothly, even though his mind was whirling with images of how he would like to proposition her, “I was thinking of spending an evening at a classy Gothic bar in the Warehouse District.”

“Oh no. The Raven, Mulder?”

“The Raven, Scully.”

===== X-FILES ===== FOREVER KNIGHT ===== HIGHLANDER =====

Natalie’s apartment

4:45 p.m. Sunday

She had barely made it home without breaking down. She managed to get the door to her apartment closed behind her and collapsed to her knees on the floor right there in front of her door. Wracking sobs shook her, and bitter tears of humiliation poured down her face. She berated herself for her lack of control. She had made a decision to accept friendship and just be there to comfort him and the moment he looked at her she creamed in her jeans like a sophomore prom date. And he had to know! That’s why he just sat there staring at her like she was an idiot. Pretty soon the humiliation faded and the despair came to the forefront. She wanted him so badly that it felt like someone had kicked her in the stomach. She loved him so much and she felt so selfish for being unable to accept the lesser role of friend, rather than lover.

She knew that Nick had brought Janette back across, but she had hoped that after Janette had left in anger over it that Nick might turn to her. She tried to console herself by remembering that Nick was worried about how LaCroix would react after the fiasco on that long-ago Valentines Day. However, she also knew that the two of them seemed to have resolved their differences after that child vampire Divia had gone on a rampage, so she didn’t think that was it either. She had to face the facts: He just didn’t want her anymore- if he ever had at all. She felt like something was squeezing her heart until it threatened to pop like a grape.

Eventually she was cried out. There were no more tears to shed or emotions to feel. She was utterly exhausted and she fell asleep right there on the floor.

===== X-FILES ===== FOREVER KNIGHT ===== HIGHLANDER =====

The Raven

8:45 p.m. Sunday

They had been in line for about 15 minutes when she noticed a big green Cadillac Convertible drive by and park down the block. She waited until she saw a familiar blond detective get out and head toward the front entrance to the Raven. She nudged Mulder and gestured with her chin toward the approaching detective.

Mulder broke off his fantasy about how he could be keeping Scully warm right now and noticed whom she was indicating. They both watched in silence as Detective Knight walked right up to the doorman, who immediately jumped up from his stool and held the door open without so much as a word or glance from Knight.

“Well.” said Mulder, loading that one word with volumes of meaning.

“Come on Mulder, even if they exist, I hardly think that homicide detective would be the kind of job they would hold down.” Scully said with more than a bit of sarcasm in her voice.

“I don’t know Scully. What better way to cover up any ‘indiscretions’ shall we say, that might pop up from the group?” Mulder said, “It’s too bad I couldn’t persuade the Gunmen to give up their new toy and bring it here myself.”

===== X-FILES ===== FOREVER KNIGHT ===== HIGHLANDER =====

Nick entered the Raven lost in thought. He thought LaCroix would be happy that he was giving up his quest, but would he be happy enough to forgive him his debt for Fleur? On top of that, even if LaCroix allowed him to woo Nat, would she still want him if he gave up on mortality? He thought so, he was pretty sure she wanted him any way she could get him. Unfortunately, he was equally sure that he didn’t deserve her under any circumstances. She would be better off without him, wouldn’t she? He used to think so, but lately he wasn’t sure. If vampires were not inherently evil, then would he really be condemning her if he brought her across? If that’s what she wanted? He was very confused. He was paradigm shifting without a clutch, and the gears of his reality were grinding noisily.

He felt sure of two things though. He thought that he could atone- could be forgiven- and that was much more important than being able to see the sunshine again. Also he was certain that he loved Natalie with all that he was. If she would have him, he would be one with her forever. She was all of the sunshine he would ever need.

He made his way through the crowd to the bar and spoke with Miklos, “Is LaCroix available?”

“He’s just finishing taping his broadcast. Your usual while you wait?” the bartender asked.

“No. The house special, please. And leave the bottle- I’ll wait in his office.” Nick said, his eyes locked on Miklos’, daring him to say anything.

Miklos merely raised an eyebrow and handed him the bottle and two glasses, saying, “Of course. I’ll let him know you’re here.”

===== X-FILES ===== FOREVER KNIGHT ===== HIGHLANDER =====

The Raven

When Mulder and Scully finally got in, about 20 minutes later, they didn’t see Knight anywhere.

“Where do you think he went?” Mulder shouted over the loud music.

“I don’t know, Mulder.” she replied “Look, there’s a booth near the back. It looks like it has a good view of the whole place.”

They made their way back to the booth and sat down just as the table was cleared. The waitress was a scantily clad and very curvy blonde. Her skin was extremely pale and her eyes were very blue. “What can I get you guys?” she said.

Scully was immediately self-conscious thinking how she was definitely Mulder’s type- just like on those videos that he denied owning. “Just a beer.” she said.

Mulder was looking at Scully, imagining her wearing the same getup this waitress was wearing and having some difficulty breathing. “Uh, yeah. A couple of Mooseheads would be great.” he stammered out.

Scully snapped her eyes to his, expecting to see them locked on the waitress’s backside, and was surprised to see them raking her up and down. “Great, he’s comparing me to her- like that’s any contest.” she thought.

Mulder finally noticed that she was staring at him and he felt himself blush furiously. He immediately looked away and saw very tall, intense looking man step out of what looked like a broadcast booth and make his way toward a door by the bar.

Scully noticed his focus and turned to see what he was looking at now. She saw the tall man in the Armani suit walking into what looked like an office, and she saw Detective Knight sitting in there, apparently waiting for him. “Who was that guy, Mulder” she asked.

“I don’t know. I saw him walking out of that sound booth,” he gestured to the studio across the bar. “But I’m pretty sure that was Knight waiting for him in the office.”

“Curiouser and curiouser.”

Just then the waitress returned with their drinks. “There you go guys. By the way, my name is Urs, if you need anything else,” she said, while blatantly checking Mulder out.

“Actually, Urs, do you know who that guy who was in the recording booth was? He looks familiar to me, but I can’t place him.” Scully said, hoping for a little info.

“Her eyes narrowed slightly but she answered, “That’s Monsieur LaCroix. He is the owner of the club, and does a radio show called The Nightcrawler from that booth.” She looked back toward Mulder and dropped her voice about half and octave and said “If there is anything else you need, you just let me know.” and then turned and walked away, swinging her hips just a little bit more than usual.

Scully looked pissed, and he couldn’t figure out what he had done now. “Look, I’m sorry if I dragged you here against your will, but you have to admit its getting pretty interesting.”

“Lord! How can I be jealous of a freaking cocktail waitress?” Scully asked herself. “I’m surprised you didn’t get her number, Mulder,” she said. “Jeez, can I get any more catty?” she wondered. At his look of total confusion she said, “Never mind Mulder. What do you think about Knight meeting with the club owner?”

“What was that all about?” he wondered. “I don’t know, Scully. I can think of several reasons why he might be meeting with this guy. Some of them aren’t even sinister,” he said.

She chuckled at that and took a long pull of her beer. She then returned to watching the crowd and trying not to think about her partner sitting across from her, looking damn sexy in his tight black turtleneck and pleated slacks.

He took one last look at his partner in her tight black jeans and black silk blouse, trying not to be obvious about reaching down to adjust his erection to relieve some of the pressure, before returning his gaze to the crowd himself.

===== X-FILES ===== FOREVER KNIGHT ===== HIGHLANDER =====

The Raven

“Nicolas, to what do I owe the honor of your visit?” asked LaCroix.

Nick wasn’t sure how to begin, so he dropped his shields and allowed his feelings to flow along their blood-link.

/fear/anxiety/desire/confusion/ washed over LaCroix’s consciousness and he felt his own surprise that Nicolas would allow him access like this. “It has been so long,” he thought, wistfully. “Come my son, I feel your trouble. Tell me what is wrong.”

“Father, I…”

LaCroix’s eyebrows raised at that word

“I don’t know where to begin. There’s… There is so much I need to say, to ask.” Nick began- his voice rough with emotion and his eyes turning golden.

LaCroix suddenly rose from behind his desk and took his son by the arm. “Come, Nicolas, let us retire to my rooms and discuss this in a less formal setting.” With that, he led Nick through the back door of the office and up the stairway to his private apartment above the club. He sat Nick on the couch and sat himself down in the armchair perpendicular to him. “Now then Nicolas, perhaps you should begin from the beginning.”

Nick didn’t really know where the beginning was, but he knew the thing that he felt most strongly. “I love her, father. With all that I am, I love her.”

“Ahh. We are, of course speaking of the delectable Doctor Lambert, I presume?”

Nick nodded his head sadly.

“Why is that a concern my son?”

Nick shied away from his gaze. He whispered, “because of our bargain. My debt to you for Fleur.”

LaCroix smiled. “That’s right Nicolas. You owe me the life of a mortal whom you love in recompense for denying me your sister, whom I loved,” he paused for a moment as Nick hung his head, “and you wanted to ask me what I would accept in place of the dear Doctor’s life?”

“Yes father. I would give you anything, do almost anything…” Nick began.

LaCroix jumped in, “Almost, Nicolas? What wouldn’t you do?” he asked, wanting to draw this out a bit.

Nick raised his eyes to meet LaCroix’s. “I will not kill for food, LaCroix.”

“Is that all?” LaCroix asked with interest. “You would give up your ridiculous quest for mortality, your ‘humanity’?” he asked in disbelief.

“I still feel the need to atone, father. I still seek to make up, however I can, for the horrible things I have done. However, I no longer believe that mortality is the key to that atonement.”

“I see. You would give up drinking that bovine swill you have been choking down for the past century?”

Nick smiled and indicated the bottle they were sharing now, “I already have. I had a case of donated blood delivered to the loft this morning. I dumped the last of the cow before coming over here.”

LaCroix sat back in his chair- Astonished. “I am so very pleased to hear that Nicolas.”

“Is it enough, my father? Would you release me from my debt? Would you let me have the love of my existence?” Nick asked, plaintively.

“It is not enough, Nicolas. Nothing could ever be enough to repay that debt.”

Nick broke in, “LaCroix, if you take her, you must take me as well, for her death will be my own.”

“You would fight me over this?”

“No father, but surely on the day of her death I will greet the sunrise with open arms.”

LaCroix sat back in his chair and considered his son. This was indeed a change in both behavior and attitude. Nicolas was not trying to be confrontational; he seemed to be genuinely trying to communicate like a dutiful son, showing the proper deference for once. “Since you destroyed Divia, I have spent a great deal of time in thought; considering many things, including your debt to me,” he paused, waiting for Nicolas to make eye contact with him. “I knew you loved Natalie, even though you lied about it at the Azure. I have decided that I should not have sought that bargain from you. You were right. I loved your sister for her innocence, and I would have destroyed that goodness then if I had brought her across. And, I am in your debt for Divia.” LaCroix stood up and turned to face his son. He reached out and gently laid his hand on Nicolas’ shoulder. “I release you of this debt, Nicolas.”

Nicolas fell to his knees before his maker and grasped his hand, pressing his lips to it and shedding his tears on it. “Thank you father. I thank you with all my heart for this boon that you have granted me.” Lapsing into the style of speech from his days as a mortal in the early 13th century- speaking as vassal to Liege-Lord. “Now I have to convince Natalie,” he said, leaping to his feet and racing out of the apartment- taking the back exit and leaving the Raven to return home.

===== X-FILES ===== FOREVER KNIGHT ===== HIGHLANDER =====

Nick’s Loft

10:05 p.m. Sunday

Natalie entered the loft and wondered where Nick was. She had noticed that the caddie was gone, but she didn’t remember him having any plans for the evening.

The first thing she noticed was the 5 empty wine bottles sitting by the sink. She thought he must have gone on a real bender to empty 5 bottles at once. She once again berated herself for her behavior earlier today. She had woken up two hours ago stiff and sore from sleeping on the floor. She had cleaned herself up and gotten dressed and decided to come over to see if she could apologize and maybe get some videos or something. Even if she couldn’t have him the way she wanted him, she would take what she could get. Just sitting with him on the couch and enjoying his company was better than moping about her apartment longing for what she could never have. She knew she couldn’t live without him.

As she approached the bottles, she noticed that they had been carefully rinsed out and set to drain on a towel. They looked as though they had been dumped, not drank. She could only think of two reasons why he would dump all of the blood in his refrigerator- all of the cow’s blood. She didn’t think he had found a cure to vampirism since she left the loft earlier that evening. That left only one reason. She reached for the refrigerator door and stopped. “There has to be another explanation. He wouldn’t give up on this, would he?” she asked herself.

She closed her eyes and opened the door. After several seconds she opened her eyes and the image before her matched almost perfectly with what she had been imagining: Wine bottles. Row after row of green bottles with Raven Cellars labels. She knew without a doubt that LaCroix would never put the Raven label on a bottle of cow’s blood.

A great crashing wave of despair smote Natalie Lambert like the hand of God wiping out Sodom and Gomorrah. She crashed to her knees for the second time that night and again hot tears flowed. “He doesn’t want me for me, and he doesn’t need me for a cure anymore. There will be nothing left for me. This is the end.” kept repeating like a mantra over and over in her head. Finally she dragged herself up and out of the loft, down the elevator and out to her car. She started driving, not sure where she was going. She knew she didn’t want to go home to her depressingly empty apartment. She drove around randomly for about 45 minutes when she noticed that she had reached the Raven. She sat, parked outside it for several minutes before she thought to herself, “Why not. I can get drunk there as easily as anywhere else,” and it seemed strangely fitting.

She got out of her car and walked over to the door, ignoring the line. She walked right up to the bouncer and locked eyes with him, daring him to deny her entrance.

The bouncer recognized Nick Knight’s pet mortal, and while part of him wanted to wipe the smug look of superiority off her face, the majority of his intellect wisely decided that such an action would result in him having to face a very angry Nick Knight. Others might make jokes about the vampire who would be human; but he had been an unfortunate witness to several altercations between Nick and LaCroix. The thought of an enraged Nick Knight coming after him left him scared bloodless. He decided that, at least in this case, discretion was definitely the better part of valor, and opened the door for her without a word.

===== X-FILES ===== FOREVER KNIGHT ===== HIGHLANDER =====

The Raven

11:12 p.m. Sunday

Scully nudged Mulder, who’s eyes were fixated on the mass of humanity on the dance floor, and pointed to the entrance where Doctor Lambert was just entering, and looking extremely upset about something. They watched in silence as she made her way to the bar and placed an order. They continued to watch as the bartender paused for several moments before filling her order. He then set up 6 shot glasses and took a bottle of what must have been either vodka or gin, something clear anyway, and filled each glass before her. He then stepped back and waited. Doctor Lambert didn’t even hesitate before picking up the first and slamming it back. She only paused long enough to return the first glass- upside down- to the bar before picking up the next and repeating the process until all six were empty and arranged in a small pyramid. She then asked for and received what looked like some sort of whiskey on ice and wandered over and sat down in a booth across the dance floor from them.

Mulder and Scully looked at one another for a moment before Scully said, “Maybe I should go over and talk to her, Mulder. You keep watching for vampires, Ok?”

“Sure, Scully. Let me know if you need any help, right?”

Scully just rolled her eyes and began to make her way across the dance floor.

She approached the booth Doctor Lambert was sitting in and noticed that the alcohol was definitely beginning to take hold. “May I join you, Doctor Lambert?” Scully asked.

Natalie whipped her head around and noticed the petite redhead standing there. “Uh, sure, agent Scully, and please, it’s Natalie, Ok?”

“Ok Natalie. Please call me Dana.” Scully replied.

“Ok Dana.”

They sat in silence for several moments.

Suddenly Natalie asked, “What was the first thing you did when you realized you were in love with your partner?”

Scully choked on the swallow of beer she had just taken, and took several seconds to recover her ability to speak. “What?”

“I mean, it must have been hard, you working together and all, I mean. Were you worried that he didn’t feel the same way? Or did he tell you first?” Natalie began rushing the questions out without waiting for an answer. “I mean, obviously it worked out, for you guys. How long were you together before you took it all the way?”

To say that Scully was stunned would be to say that Rush Limbaugh was somewhat conservative in his political views. She just sat there with her mouth hanging open for several seconds before it shut like a trap. “Thank God Mulder didn’t decide to join me over here” she thought. “Uh, Natalie, wha-what makes you think Mulder and I are together. That way, I mean”

“Oh, I understand that you guys can’t advertise it. Probably some kind of problem with rules, right?” Natalie asked, her eyes beginning to glaze from the drink she had consumed already that evening. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell your secret. I’m glad for you two. I know what it’s like to want someone that badly, and not be able to have them.” She started to ramble, “Now that he doesn’t need my help anymore, there’s no need to keep poor pathetic little Natalie hanging around anymore is there?” The bitterness contained in that statement was enough to choke a horse.

Scully’s head was spinning when Natalie switched topics again, “Where is he anyway? Your partner, I mean.”

“Uh, he’s watching for vampires,” Scully blurted out, not even noticing how ridiculous that must sound.

“Freaking bloodsuckers, first they want a cure and then they just throw away six years of research and work like you don’t count. Frankly he doesn’t even deserve me!” Natalie whispered venomously.

Scully realized that Natalie was well on her way to utter intoxication. “Uh, Natalie- could I offer you a ride home?” Scully said in what she hoped was her most soothing voice.

“Don’t worry, Dana, I’ll take a cab or something. Right now I am just getting warmed up,” Natalie said, her voice almost clear, but filled with anger. “Actually, If you don’t mind, I would like to be alone right now. I’ll see you tomorrow night at the conference.”

“Ahh, sure Natalie… If you say so.” Scully said softly. She paused for a moment and then got up and made her way back to Mulder. Her mind was whirling with what Natalie had said. “Am I that obvious about my feelings? Surely Mulder would have noticed by now, and why did she think we were a couple? Mulder doesn’t think of me that way at all.”

“So, what’s up with her?” Mulder asked.

“Uh, I’m not sure. Something about 6 years of research being thrown away, and not mattering and someone not deserving her and, uh, some other stuff.” Scully broke off as she realized that she needed to think about the other stuff, but not talk about it. “I thi-I think she was drunk, Mulder.”

“Are you ok, Scully?” Mulder asked.

“I’m fine, Mulder, why?”

“You’re stuttering.”

“I-I’m what?”

“Stuttering, Scully.”

“I most certainly am not, Mulder!”

“Ok, ok. Jeez, Scully, Its not just a river in Egypt anymore, huh?” Mulder trailed off as he turned away.

“What was that, Mulder?”

“Nothing Scully.”

“Look Mulder, this is going nowhere. Can we get out of here?”

“I wanted to see how long Knight was going to stay in that office.”

“Just ask him tomorrow when we see him. Seriously Mulder. What do you suspect him of doing?” Scully asked when she saw the ‘sad puppy’ look starting to form. She leaned forward conspiratorially and whispered, “Do you think he’s a Vampire? A freaking bloodsuck…er…” she trailed off.

Mulder didn’t seem to notice, “Well he’s awfully pale, Scully.” he said, only half-jokingly.

She just stared at him, lost in thought. Mulder misinterpreted it as annoyance and said, “Ok, Scully. We’ll go.”

He left some money on the table and they made their way across the dance floor and out onto the street. The first thing Mulder noticed was that Detective Knight’s car was gone. “Damn, how did he get past us, Scully?”

“Come on Mulder, If he is a friend of the owner, don’t you think he could have used a back door or something?” she pointed out. “Obviously he must have. Or do you think he turned into a vapor and sneaked out with the cigarette haze?” she teased.

Mulder started to smile a little and decided to humor her, “No, he probably turned into a bat and flew out a window.”

“Do you think they license bats to drive in Canada, Mulder?” Scully asked, “How would they reach the pedals?”

Mulder laughed out loud at that, smiling widely at Scully.

“I would give anything to make him smile at me like that every day for the rest of my life,” Scully thought to herself wistfully.

Sometimes when he looked at her, he was so stricken by her beauty that it felt like his heart would pound its way out of his chest and throw itself at her feet in supplication. Frankly he wondered how long it would be before he slipped and drove her away. He wasn’t sure they would still be partners by the end of this conference.

===== X-FILES ===== FOREVER KNIGHT ===== HIGHLANDER =====

The Raven

Natalie watched as the two agents left the club, His hand on the small of her back, guiding her through the crowd and looking down at her with adoration clearly written on his face, and she felt jealous. “She has someone who loves her and isn’t afraid to show it. Why can’t I have that?” she thought morosely. “I’m a good person! I’ve stuck by him in good times and bad. I’ve forgiven him when he backslid and encouraged him when he was down, Dammit!”

Of course she knew the answer- Janette. “He has loved her for 800 years, and now he’s her master as well as her lover. How can I compete with that?” she wondered. The answer, of course, was that she couldn’t. “I would have made do with his friendship,” she told herself. She would have died a little to see him with her, but anything to stay in his life. “God how pathetic is that?” she whispered out loud. She was rapidly becoming more and more inebriated.

At that moment LaCroix came out from his office and noticed her. “What’s this?” he thought to himself. “Surely Nicolas hasn’t spoken to the good doctor already?” He felt himself becoming angry. If she could not accept that Nicolas was going to remain a vampire, if she had rejected him after he declared his undying love for her… He suddenly had a flash vision of Nicolas embracing the dawn. “Yet, I haven’t felt anything from Nicolas.” He opened himself to the link with his son and felt him at peace. He decided to find out what was going on.

“My Good Doctor Lambert, what a delightful surprise to find you here. What, may I ask, brings you to my humble establishment this evening?”

Natalie slowly raised her eyes to meet his, trying to focus the bleary image before her. When she figured out who was speaking to her, she felt suddenly furious. “You. You son of a bitch. How dare you even speak to me?! You are responsible for this, aren’t you? You finally brow beat him into giving up, didn’t you? Giving up on humanity, giving up on me! You couldn’t be happy unless he was miserable, you bastard!” Natalie hadn’t raised her voice, but the low, venomous tone carried and several of the surrounding patrons turned to stare at the foolish mortal who would speak to the ancient in that tone.

LaCroix grabbed Natalie by the arm and escorted her into his office, firmly closing the door behind them and dropping her unceremoniously into the chair before his desk. “What, exactly, are you babbling about Doctor? What has Nicolas said to you?” he demanded in a commanding tone.

Natalie sat upright, well as upright as her intoxicated state allowed, in open defiance and said, “He didn’t have to tell me anything, LaCroix. I saw it. I saw the blood in his refrigerator. It’s clear to me that his return to human blood can only be your doing,” she pointed at him as if daring him to contradict her. “You have been against him and his search for a cure all along!”

“Interesting,” he thought. Leaning back in his chair and steepling his fingers before him he said, “And this affects you how, exactly?”

Natalie slumped in her seat a bit and whispered, “He told you he was using me for a cure, remember? I thought if I could cure him he might want me to be with him,” she sobbed, so lost in her cups that she didn’t even notice that she was breaking down in front of the monster that was ruining her life. “Now he doesn’t need me anymore. He’ll just go find Janette, and leave me behind.” she trailed off, tears running down her face as she slowly slipped into unconsciousness.

“Oh Nicolas, why can nothing ever be simple or easy with you?” LaCroix said to himself as he pondered this latest course of events.

===== X-FILES ===== FOREVER KNIGHT ===== HIGHLANDER =====

Nicks Loft

3:05am Monday

Nick was sitting in his armchair thinking. Pondering. How would he broach the subject with Natalie? He was pretty certain that she would be upset with him, and he wasn’t sure how he would overcome her feelings of betrayal and convince her of the necessity of the situation. He also was worried about her reaction to the images she would see the first time he drank from her. He thought if he told her everything first, just so she would be prepared for it, it might help her overcome it.

She already knew in a vague way that he had killed a lot of people, and that he had enjoyed it, reveling in the hunt. She also knew that that was all in the past- the distant past. She knew it intellectually, but not emotionally; not viscerally. He knew that his love for her was stronger than anything he had ever felt in his 800 years of existence. He was reasonably confidant that his love would overshadow the horror she would feel at his actions in the past. He also resolved to go as slowly as she needed. He had waited 800 years to find her and he would wait as long as it took. But he would have her, and it would last forever.

His daydreaming was interrupted by the sound of his elevator activating. Was she coming to see him? How utterly perfect that she would arrive now. Surely this was an omen of good things to come. Nick’s spirits were soaring!

The door to the elevator opened and Nick’s soaring spirits took a nosedive for the tarmac. LaCroix stood there with an unconscious Natalie slung over his shoulder. Nicolas’ first fear was quickly assuaged when he heard her steady heartbeat. LaCroix gently laid Natalie down on the couch and turned to Nicolas, expecting a torrent of accusations to flow forth.

For once in his life, Nick paused to think for a moment before reacting to what he saw before him. He believed LaCroix’s sincerity in their earlier conversation. If LaCroix were going to kill her he would have done so already. Obviously, something had happened to Natalie, and LaCroix had somehow found out and brought her here. The proper course of action would probably be to find out what happened.

“What happened, father?”

LaCroix was surprised, almost shocked, that his son was calm and hadn’t attacked him in some misguided belief that he had done harm to his beloved. “She was at the Raven. She was drunk, still is in fact.”

“That isn’t like her at all,” Nick said. “Why would she do that?” he asked rhetorically.

“I might actually be able to answer that for you Nicolas,” LaCroix said as he gently laid her upon the couch. “The good doctor seems to have become aware that you have given up on your ridiculous quest for mortality. She has concluded that you no longer need her, as you were only using her to try and gain a cure in the first place.”

Nick was dumbfounded. “Why would she think that I was using her?”

“Why, my dear boy, because you told me so, as you stood before me with her in your arms.”

“She remembers that Valentine’s Day?” Nicolas whispered, heavy hearted.

LaCroix sighed. “It would seem so, my son. You will have a great deal of explaining to do when she awakes.”

“Yes. I have a great deal to answer for,” Nick said as he kneeled beside her and cupped her cheek in his palm. “I hope she can find it in her heart to forgive me,” he whispered.

“Nicolas, I know we have had our differences these last several centuries, but I want you to know that in my heart, you will always be my beloved son. If you can think of any way in which I may be of assistance, you have but to ask.”

“Thank you, father,” Nick said as he looked up at his master. “That means a great deal to me.”

“What will you do?”

“I think I will confess everything and throw myself on the mercy of the court,” he answered.

“Will you bring her across?” LaCroix asked with interest.

“If she consents to it, yes. But not today, I think. I will not do this on the spur of the moment. She would need time away from work to acclimatize before she could be around mortals.” Nick answered.

“Very well, Nicolas,” LaCroix said. He then steeled his tone; “I will expect to hear from you very soon, my son,” LaCroix commanded and then flew up and through the skylight and away.”

===== X-FILES ===== FOREVER KNIGHT ===== HIGHLANDER =====

Nick’s loft

8am Monday

Natalie awoke with bleary eyes, a headache, and a serious case of cottonmouth. She tried to determine where she was; she remembered going to the loft, and then the Raven. Things got a little hazy after that. She remembered what she found at the loft, and why she went to the Raven, so she supposed that she had succeeded in drinking herself into oblivion. The black satin sheets rustled as she tried to sit up, and she instantly realized where she was. Nick’s Loft. She wasn’t sure how she got there, but this was definitely Nick’s bedroom. In a panic, she checked herself to see what state of dress she was in, and was both relieved and disappointed to find herself fully dressed, save for her shoes.

She noticed a glass of water by the bed, and a bottle of aspirin sitting on an envelope on the nightstand by the bed. She gratefully popped some aspirin and downed the glass of water. She saw that the envelope was addressed to her. She opened it and read the letter inside;

“Natalie,

If you would care to take a shower and change into something more comfortable, I would very much like to speak with you before you leave.

Please Natalie. I have many things I need to tell you.

Nick.”

Natalie noticed the pajama top and robe that were draped over a chair by the door and decided that a shower might help make her feel a little more human before she went down and faced the music. She wondered if she had come here after her little bender and tried to give Nick a piece of her mind. “Good Job, Lambert! If he wasn’t sure about leaving before, that would certainly have helped him make up his mind!”

As she opened the bedroom door and walked to the bathroom, she heard the gentle strains of a Chopin Nocturne drifting up from the piano below.

Nick heard his beloved move into the bathroom and start her shower. He was so nervous that he had butterflies in his stomach. He hoped she would let him explain himself before she slapped him and walked out of his life forever. He began to pour himself into the music. He poured in his sorrow for the lives he had taken. He poured in his resolve to make amends, to do right where he had once done wrong. Finally, he poured in his absolute, unswerving love and devotion for Natalie, the love he had hidden from her, and himself, for so long.

Natalie dried off and put on the silk top and robe. She walked out of the bathroom and was struck by the music Nick was playing. It sounded raw and passionate and forceful. She had always enjoyed Nick’s playing, but it had never sounded like this before. She made her way down the stairs and walked over to the couch. She sat down and tucked her legs underneath her and just listened. She felt at different parts sorrow, pain, strength and joy flowing through the music. The emotions were almost tangible. She had never heard music performed like this before. It was almost as though her heart was an instrument and Nick was playing it like a virtuoso. The effect became even more pronounced as he built up to the finale.

As he concluded the piece she realized that she had been holding her breath, and exhaled forcefully. Nick whipped around, startled. He hadn’t noticed her enter the room and sit down, so focused on the music he had been.

“Natalie! I-I didn’t hear… T-Thank you for letting me speak with you,” he said- his nervousness back with full force.

Natalie felt like she was made of glass, and the vibrations she was getting were threatening to shatter her. “Formality usually means bad news, Nick” she said, “Are you going to give me some bad news?” Even her voice was brittle now.

“I need to tell you some things, Natalie. Some of them are bad… horrible,” he said- the pain evident in his voice. Some of them are good, but they might be hard to understand.”

Natalie felt like a vice was gripping her heart and her breathing was becoming rapid and shallow. Her voice was high and breathy, like a frightened child, “When you are done telling me these things, will you be leaving?” she asked, the tears in her eyes threatening to overflow.

The iron band tightened around Nick’s own undead heart loosened a little bit at that. “She wouldn’t have asked that question if she had already decided she didn’t want me,” he thought. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. “Natalie- that will depend on you. On whether or not you still want me around when I am finished,” he said.

“I get to choose?” she asked, startled.

“Yes, Natalie. But please, wait until you hear everything I have to say before you make a decision.”

The vice around her heart loosened entirely, and a burgeoning feeling of hope began to grow in its place. The cynical voice inside her rose up and said “Don’t get your hopes up, Lambert. Just because he is staying around doesn’t mean he wants you. He’s probably going to tell you Janette is back and they're moving in together.”

“I know you remember the Azure,” Nick said, his head hung in shame. “I need to tell you about my sister, Fleur.” Nick proceeded to explain how LaCroix had fallen in love with his sister and wanted to bring her across. How he had convinced him that to do so would destroy the very innocence that he loved in her. How LaCroix had exacted from him a debt in return for releasing his sister- LaCroix would claim a mortal love of Nick’s in recompense. Nick had bluffed on Valentines Day, hoping that he could convince LaCroix that he was just using her to further his quest. “I don’t know what I would have done if he had called my bluff, Nat,” he said- meeting her eyes for a moment. “At that time I thought that being a vampire was to be beyond redemption, to be evil incarnate.” Nick dropped his gaze and continued, “I owe you an apology Nat, not only for the horrible things I said about you that night, but also for presuming to choose your fate for you, without even asking your opinion.”

“That hurt Nick. It hurt a lot that you could do that and then just wipe my memory of it like it was nothing,” Natalie said.

“I know, Nat. I betrayed you that night. At the time I thought it was the only way to protect you, to save your life. But it was betrayal nonetheless. Sorry doesn’t even begin to cover it,” Nick said, shame faced. “Unfortunately, the other things I am going to tell you aren’t any better. But I want you to know the truth, Natalie. The whole truth, with no more secrets between us.”

Nick told her about Janette. How he had used her for sex and blood because he couldn’t have Natalie without killing her. He told her about his wife, who he had tried to bring across on their wedding night, and how he had taken too much- killing her; which was why he didn’t trust himself to try Janette’s cure. He told her about his being married to Janette for nearly a century. He told her how he had brought Janette back across, rather than let her die in the fire.

“I thought that keeping these secrets was the only way to protect you. However, by keeping them from you, by not explaining them and allowing you to have some say in the decisions that affected both of us, I was betraying your trust.” Nick said. I can never take it back, I can’t undo the pain you feel, Nat. I can only say that I deeply regret the hurt that I have caused you and that I don’t want any secrets between us in the future.” Nick fell to his knees before her and asked, “Can you find it in your heart to forgive me?”

“As long as that behavior remains a thing of the past, I can and do forgive you Nick.”

Nick bowed his head, “Thank you Natalie,” he said. A single blood tear slid down his cheek as he raised his head to meet her gaze.

Even though these were things she had been dying to hear, she was still unsure and worried. “Why now Nick? Why are you finally telling me all of this now and not years ago?”

Nick stood up suddenly and began pacing back and forth in front of her, “I’ve come to the realization recently that my goals have been incorrectly defined. I have been striving for absolution; to atone for my sins. I thought regaining my mortality was a prerequisite for forgiveness,” he said shaking his head sadly. “Now I know that it isn’t. I also know that I am in a better position to help people as I am; to try and repay humanity for the destruction I wrought in centuries past. I’ve realized that my being a vampire has nothing to do with whether or not I am evil or good. The demon that possessed me was more evil than I ever was. And it was the good that was in me that set me free.”

“What about the blood?” Natalie asked, gesturing to his fridge.

“If I am going to be at my full strength, I must drink human blood. Cow weakens me. The blood is all donated- I won’t kill for food, Natalie. Nor will I drink blood taken by force.” he paused, then added, “Can you accept that Natalie?”

She left that unanswered for the moment. “What was the second reason?” she said tightly.

“LaCroix.”

“LaCroix? How…”

“He has released me from my debt, Natalie. He will not harm you.”

“Are you sure, Nick?” she desperately wanted to believe what she was hearing, but she was afraid of LaCroix. Afraid of the monster she remembered from the Azure.

“Natalie, LaCroix has changed. I would not have believed it was possible either, until Divia came back.”

“Who was she, Nick? I know she was a vampire, and that she went on a killing spree… I know she tried to kill Vachon and you…”

“Natalie. I told you that there would be no secrets between us. But I cannot tell you everything about Divia, because she is a part of LaCroix’s history, and it is not for me to reveal his private life.” He saw that she was about to protest, and hastily continued, “I can tell you about what happened here, though. She wanted to hurt LaCroix. She tried to kill everyone he knew and/or cared about. If Janette had been around, she would have tried to kill her as well. She caused Vachon to go insane- he made Tracy stake him, Natalie.”

“Oh Nick, Poor Tracy. But how… I thought… I’ve seen him- I saw him at the Raven, Nick.”

“Tracy pulled out the stake, and once Divia was dead, the madness left him. He managed to regenerate and claw his way out of the shallow grave that Tracy buried him in.” Nick smiled at the memory, “He said she took it pretty well, of course, she nearly shot him when he went to her apartment to tell her.”

Natalie giggled a little at that.

“Finally she attacked me and left me for dead. Then she went after LaCroix.” Nick’s eyes went unfocused as he lost himself in the memory.

“LaCroix was able to defeat her?” Natalie asked, interrupting his reverie.

“No, she had beaten him, and was about to kill him when I got there. I ran her through with a spear as she poised to strike the final blow.”

“You saved his life.”

“Yes, but at a cost.” Nick whispered. He then shook his head slightly as if snapping himself out of a trance and continued “It changed him Natalie. He is much more open to me now.”

“You feel strongly for him, don’t you Nick.” Natalie asked, softly.

“For all that he has done to me, for all of the bad times we have been through, he is still the only father I have ever known. When I was mortal, my father was always away. He was in one war or another, or away at court.” Nick sighed heavily. “In every way that matters, both good and bad, LaCroix is my father, Natalie.” He looked deep into her eyes and asked, “I am a vampire. LaCroix is my father. Can you accept that Natalie?”

“Tell me this Nick, are you giving up mortality for LaCroix, or to protect me?”

“No Natalie. I would have given it up to protect you if he had asked it of me. But, honestly, I decided to seek my atonement as a vampire, to accept who I am and what I am- and what I am not, Natalie; before I went to discuss with him my feelings for you.”

“I-I thought you wanted to be human, Nick.”

“Do you think that I am evil now, Natalie? As a vampire, am I beyond forgiveness?”

“No, Nick. I’ve never thought that. I just thought you wanted to be human again. To see the sun again.” Natalie dropped her gaze and continued softly, “To have a family.”

“I do miss the sun, Natalie. Especially not being able to spend time in the sun with you. But honestly- when I get past the guilt and self-loathing, the night is really beautiful. As a vampire, my senses are acutely tuned to the night. There is no darkness that I cannot see through. Everything looks alive, vital, and light.” Nick responded. “As for a family… It’s true that I will never be able to sire a child, and a part of me longs for that, but in truth, I can still have a wife, and if we wanted to, there are other options for having children. There are human couples that are unable to have children in the traditional manner, and yet they are able to live full happy lives as parents.” Nick waited until she met his gaze again and continued, “The truth is that Vampirism is a condition, it places restrictions on my life that I have to accept. However, it can only ruin my life if I let it. Just as any mortal disease or condition can be overcome to achieve a full, rich life, so I can do the same. I have spent the last century longing to be human, thinking that it could only happen if I could regain my mortality. I have finally come to realize, really in the last few weeks, that humanity is an ongoing choice of attitude and lifestyle. I have seen so many mortals that are as monstrous, if not more so than I ever was. I now know that mortality is not the key.” Nick smiled and lightly said, “Besides, unlike mortal handicaps, vampirism has many benefits that I think more than make up for the restrictions.”

“If you have made this decision because it is what you want, Nick, then of course I can accept it.”

“I want you to know that I am deeply grateful for your help all these years Natalie. I really thought I wanted to be mortal again, and you were there for me constantly. You sacrificed a great deal of your life for me, and for my quest. For a long time I wondered why. Why did you give up so much for me?”

She blushed furiously and refused to meet his gaze. “I know we are just supposed to be friends, Nick…”

“I love you, Natalie” Nick said.

“…but I can’t help it! I-I just…” then it dawned on her what he had just said, “you- what? What did you say?” she stuttered, thinking to herself “No he didn’t. He did not just say he loved me. Did he?”

“I need for you to know how I feel about you, Natalie. Words just won’t do, I cannot think of the words to adequately convey the depths of my love for you, Natalie. There is a way for you to see for yourself.” Nick took a deep breath and continued, “If I were to taste your blood- from your wrist- you would see everything. I cannot drain you from your wrist, so the danger to you is minimal. I have to warn you, though- you will see everything, though it will be jumbled and may not make a lot of sense. That means you will see images of my past- of the terrible things I have done, Natalie. Everything. It will be a lot to swallow at once.”

“Oh, Nick.” Natalie’s eyes were bright with unshed tears.

“Of course, I will also be able to see your whole life as well. If there is anything you don’t want me to know, you may not want to do this, because everything will be laid bare by the blood link.”

Wordlessly, she pushed up the sleeve of his pajama top and thrust her arm out to him.

Nick smiled and took her hand. He laid one reverent kiss on her palm and said, “Wait one moment, my love. I mustn’t be hungry when we do this.” And with that he whipped around and up off of the couch, literally flying to the refrigerator. He pulled out the cork with his teeth and downed an entire bottle in one long draught. He then took a second bottle and brought it and a glass back to the couch.

He set the bottle and the glass on the coffee table and took her hand once again, “Natalie, I-I’m afraid.”

Natalie’s own heart was racing in fear, joy, dread, and anticipation. She couldn’t believe that this was really happening. “Of what?” she choked out.

Nick dropped his gaze down to her palm and whispered, “I’m afraid that you will see the things that I have done and be repulsed. I am afraid that you will leave me.”

Natalie’s heart slowed, and a sense of calm swept over her. She shivered as a single blood tear fell onto her palm. “Look at me Nick.” she said in a strong, even voice. He raised his head and looked into her eyes. “Trust me.” she said.

“I am, without a doubt, the single most fortunate creature in existence.” Nick thought. He slowly grasped the back of her hand in his left hand and brought her wrist to his lips. He reached out with his right hand and cupped her cheek. He never broke eye contact as he willed the change- his eyes turning and his fangs dropping.

She felt the sting of his bite and was suddenly swept up into a swirling maelstrom of image and sensation. She exulted in the hunt. She savored the hot blood of the kill. She saw entire villages destroyed, men, women, and children drained of their precious life’s blood. She felt the horror of realization, what it was like to discover that you were a monster. She felt the desire for atonement, the constant failures, and the small victories. She felt herself wrapped in a warm glow of love and adoration- centered on a bright light like a beacon in the night. As she drew closer to it she felt the warm glow become a burning flame until she was utterly consumed by love, desire, and longing. It burned her up leaving nothing behind as she finally got close enough to see what was at the center of the light. When she looked into the light she saw… Herself. Through Nick’s eyes she was the most beautiful, desirable, and alluring creature in existence. Suddenly she was back into herself, opening her eyes and seeing Nick withdraw his fangs from her wrist.

He licked the wounds in her wrist until they stopped bleeding, and savored the sweet, sweet nectar that was his beloved. He had seen her love and devotion to him, her faith in his salvation and her hope that they could have a future together. He had also seen her fear that she wasn’t good enough for him, or sufficiently desirable to him. He saw a huge inferiority complex in her psyche that was centered on the death of her parents at a young age, her grandmother’s indifference and abuse, and, most recently his dalliances with Janette.

“Oh, Natalie. Janette is my sister, my daughter, she was my wife for a hundred years. I will always love her. However, if there is such a thing as a soul mate, you are it, Natalie. Janette and I are in the past. You are my future, if you will have me.”

Tears were streaming down Natalie’s face. Tears of sadness for the horrors she had seen, and tears of joy for the future she could see. “Oh yes, Nick- I will have you… Forever, if you will let me.”

“Forever? Are you sure, Natalie?”

“Absolutely, Nick. I have never been more certain of anything in my life.”

“I believe you Natalie. I have to ask, though, what about the sun, what about a family?”

“Nick, when I dreamed about your cure, I dreamed about being in the sun with you. I dreamed about having your child.” She shook her head and asked, “Don’t you see Nick? I don’t want to be in the sun if you aren’t there. I don’t want a child, if it isn’t yours. I would a thousand times rather be in the night with you than in the day without you.”

“Day or night, Natalie. I choose to be with you.”

She was so happy that she thought her heart would burst. She threw her arms around him and drank his mouth like a woman dying of thirst. He reciprocated with an overwhelming passion of his own, as if the two could become one through mouth contact alone. When he finally pulled away, he said “Soon Natalie, soon. But not tonight.”

“Mnhf! Why Not!?” she whined.

He chuckled lightly. “Don’t you think your department would miss you if you didn’t show up for the next several weeks?” He leaned his forehead against hers, cupped her face in his hands and said, “We need a couple of days to make some arrangements, Natalie. But very soon we will be together forever.”

“You’re right, of course. I just feel like we have been waiting for so long already, and I am sick of it,” she said.

“Stay here today, Natalie. Let me hold you in my arms and sleep with you beside me. That would wonderful,” he said wistfully.

Natalie breathed out, “Yes, beloved.”

With that he wrapped his arms around her and flew them up to his bed.