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estinoseSummary: Natalie remembers a final confrontation with LaCroix. Songfic.
Whispered Words and Promises
by Estirose
*********************************
Whispered words and promises
we made when we were wed
thank you love, for meaning what you said
*********************************
Nick wound his fingers in his sleeping wife's hair. Natalie turned over and made a sound, neither pleasurable or painful, but merely there. Nick was glad, for Nat had been through so much in the last few weeks. She'd had nightmares for the last week. At least tonight her dreams seemed to be peaceful.
It caused him so much pain that her suffering was all due to being true to herself... and him.
****************************
Each of us is weak and strong
but some of us are true
I am blessed to have a friend in you
****************************
Nat had been insistent on his continued regimen of various pills and protein drinks. At least her last round were palatable, even if they weren't blood. He'd expected her to want revenge after she'd found out that he'd been sleeping with Janette. The only thing that had happened was that she'd given him a lecture. The usual one.
Still, it made him ashamed, which was unusual. So he continued to drink the protein drinks. He hoped the next round tasted as well as her last batch.
And there were some noticeable differences occurring. Oh, the hunger for blood was still there, but some of his abilities were decreasing. He couldn't fly as easily, he wasn't as fast as he normally was, and his wounds were definitely healing slower.
A bad side effect was that LaCroix came over more and more often, to try to argue "reason" into his son. And one early morning, while Nat was there, things came to a crisis.
************************************
You never know the worth of friends
until your time of need
The way you stood beside me strengthened me
it strengthened me
************************************
LaCroix had come sauntering into Nick's loft as if he belonged there.
"Ah, Nicholas," he had purred. "And you doctor friend, too."
"Spare me the lecture, LaCroix, I've heard several repetitions already," Nick said.
"Actually, I've come to talk to Doctor Lambert. I noticed her car inside and decided now would be the best time to converse with her."
"About what?" Nat asked.
"What else? Nicholas and his quest for a cure. The quest that you're now a part of."
"I can guess what you're going to say," Nat said. "That you want me to cease and desist. That you are going to utter threats because you can't bear to see your precious Nicholas become mortal. He already loves me more than he loves you."
"Actually, apart from that last statement, you are quite perceptive. Unfortunately, Nicholas is not in love with you, but your 'purity' and 'mortality' instead. The sooner you face up to that reality, the better."
Natalie cocked her head and smiled despite the fear that both the vampires could smell. "So how do you propose to stop me? Kill me, and lose Nick completely? Bring me across? We'd then find out for sure if Nick loves me."
"I would," Nick said quietly.
"And then I'd find him a cure, and you'd lose him anyway. Face it, LaCroix, you're stuck."
The master vampire stopped to think for a moment. Then he got up and approached the couple. "But you yourself have given me a chance," LaCroix said, reaching for Nat.
************************************
You never did deserve to know
Those times so hard to bear
But that's when I found out how much you care
************************************
Natalie seemed to half-step into LaCroix's hands. Probably, she had meant to get away from him, but had begun her flight in the wrong direction. The vampire grabbed her, spinning her appropriately so she was in a good position to get bitten.
Nick stood still, frozen for a moment. She was crying, he could see that as LaCroix semi-tenderly brushed her hair from her neck to make it more accessible. He reached for a stake that Nat had stored under the couch, along with the remote for his loft.
A soft cry came from Nat as LaCroix sank his fangs into her. Nick ran over to free her from his embrace, using the stake to force LaCroix away from his meal and to draw his attention away from her. As LaCroix went to toss his son out of the way, Nick opened the blinds. Instantly, the early-morning sun began to shine upon both him and LaCroix.
Nick tackled the older vampire and kept him in the sun. LaCroix struggled, and Nick was hard pressed to keep him in the sun's beams since he was so much weaker. However, the sun seemed to hurt a lot less than the last time he had been caught in it.
Finally, the elder vampire was nothing but a pile of ashes. Nick turned to Nat's prone form and was relieved to find her still alive. "Scatter the ashes, Nick," Natalie whispered to him. "Free us from the past..."
And Nick did, braving the sun once more to scatter LaCroix's ashes to the wind that brushed through Toronto. Then he called an ambulance.
"I love you, Natalie," he said.
"I love you too, Nick."
"Nat?" he asked.
"Yes?"
"Would you really have become a vampire to continue working on the cure?"
"Yes, I would. I couldn't see a way out. I don't think I would have to worry though. You're so close to mortal now..."
Fortunately, the ambulance came soon.
****************************
If I ever have the chance
I'll be there for you
To share the rarest gift I ever knew
****************************
Natalie looked strange with the bandages on her neck. The doctors and nurses had been able to put enough blood in her for her to survive, but she was still weak and the area around the bite marks was still sore.
Nick had moved her to his loft, allowing her his bed. He slept on the couch. It was at this time that her nightmares began, and from what Nick could pick out, they were about LaCroix. Despite her semi-willingness to sacrifice her mortality for Nick's, it still had not been a pleasant experience.
Natalie had finally come up with enough strength to return to work. Once there, she was able to come up with a possible cure.
**********************************
Whispered words and promises
we made when we were wed
Thank you, love, for meaning what you said.
***********************************
The mortal Nicholas, once a vampire, stroked his wife's hair. Outside, the sun was rising over the Arizona landscape and the red rocks of Oak Creek Canyon. "Wake up, Natalie, my love, it's the sunrise."
The end
"Whispered Words" was written by Peter Yarrow and appears on the Peter, Paul and Mary album "No Easy Walk to Freedom".
Whispered Words and Promises
by Estirose
*********************************
Whispered words and promises
we made when we were wed
thank you love, for meaning what you said
*********************************
Nick wound his fingers in his sleeping wife's hair. Natalie turned over and made a sound, neither pleasurable or painful, but merely there. Nick was glad, for Nat had been through so much in the last few weeks. She'd had nightmares for the last week. At least tonight her dreams seemed to be peaceful.
It caused him so much pain that her suffering was all due to being true to herself... and him.
****************************
Each of us is weak and strong
but some of us are true
I am blessed to have a friend in you
****************************
Nat had been insistent on his continued regimen of various pills and protein drinks. At least her last round were palatable, even if they weren't blood. He'd expected her to want revenge after she'd found out that he'd been sleeping with Janette. The only thing that had happened was that she'd given him a lecture. The usual one.
Still, it made him ashamed, which was unusual. So he continued to drink the protein drinks. He hoped the next round tasted as well as her last batch.
And there were some noticeable differences occurring. Oh, the hunger for blood was still there, but some of his abilities were decreasing. He couldn't fly as easily, he wasn't as fast as he normally was, and his wounds were definitely healing slower.
A bad side effect was that LaCroix came over more and more often, to try to argue "reason" into his son. And one early morning, while Nat was there, things came to a crisis.
************************************
You never know the worth of friends
until your time of need
The way you stood beside me strengthened me
it strengthened me
************************************
LaCroix had come sauntering into Nick's loft as if he belonged there.
"Ah, Nicholas," he had purred. "And you doctor friend, too."
"Spare me the lecture, LaCroix, I've heard several repetitions already," Nick said.
"Actually, I've come to talk to Doctor Lambert. I noticed her car inside and decided now would be the best time to converse with her."
"About what?" Nat asked.
"What else? Nicholas and his quest for a cure. The quest that you're now a part of."
"I can guess what you're going to say," Nat said. "That you want me to cease and desist. That you are going to utter threats because you can't bear to see your precious Nicholas become mortal. He already loves me more than he loves you."
"Actually, apart from that last statement, you are quite perceptive. Unfortunately, Nicholas is not in love with you, but your 'purity' and 'mortality' instead. The sooner you face up to that reality, the better."
Natalie cocked her head and smiled despite the fear that both the vampires could smell. "So how do you propose to stop me? Kill me, and lose Nick completely? Bring me across? We'd then find out for sure if Nick loves me."
"I would," Nick said quietly.
"And then I'd find him a cure, and you'd lose him anyway. Face it, LaCroix, you're stuck."
The master vampire stopped to think for a moment. Then he got up and approached the couple. "But you yourself have given me a chance," LaCroix said, reaching for Nat.
************************************
You never did deserve to know
Those times so hard to bear
But that's when I found out how much you care
************************************
Natalie seemed to half-step into LaCroix's hands. Probably, she had meant to get away from him, but had begun her flight in the wrong direction. The vampire grabbed her, spinning her appropriately so she was in a good position to get bitten.
Nick stood still, frozen for a moment. She was crying, he could see that as LaCroix semi-tenderly brushed her hair from her neck to make it more accessible. He reached for a stake that Nat had stored under the couch, along with the remote for his loft.
A soft cry came from Nat as LaCroix sank his fangs into her. Nick ran over to free her from his embrace, using the stake to force LaCroix away from his meal and to draw his attention away from her. As LaCroix went to toss his son out of the way, Nick opened the blinds. Instantly, the early-morning sun began to shine upon both him and LaCroix.
Nick tackled the older vampire and kept him in the sun. LaCroix struggled, and Nick was hard pressed to keep him in the sun's beams since he was so much weaker. However, the sun seemed to hurt a lot less than the last time he had been caught in it.
Finally, the elder vampire was nothing but a pile of ashes. Nick turned to Nat's prone form and was relieved to find her still alive. "Scatter the ashes, Nick," Natalie whispered to him. "Free us from the past..."
And Nick did, braving the sun once more to scatter LaCroix's ashes to the wind that brushed through Toronto. Then he called an ambulance.
"I love you, Natalie," he said.
"I love you too, Nick."
"Nat?" he asked.
"Yes?"
"Would you really have become a vampire to continue working on the cure?"
"Yes, I would. I couldn't see a way out. I don't think I would have to worry though. You're so close to mortal now..."
Fortunately, the ambulance came soon.
****************************
If I ever have the chance
I'll be there for you
To share the rarest gift I ever knew
****************************
Natalie looked strange with the bandages on her neck. The doctors and nurses had been able to put enough blood in her for her to survive, but she was still weak and the area around the bite marks was still sore.
Nick had moved her to his loft, allowing her his bed. He slept on the couch. It was at this time that her nightmares began, and from what Nick could pick out, they were about LaCroix. Despite her semi-willingness to sacrifice her mortality for Nick's, it still had not been a pleasant experience.
Natalie had finally come up with enough strength to return to work. Once there, she was able to come up with a possible cure.
**********************************
Whispered words and promises
we made when we were wed
Thank you, love, for meaning what you said.
***********************************
The mortal Nicholas, once a vampire, stroked his wife's hair. Outside, the sun was rising over the Arizona landscape and the red rocks of Oak Creek Canyon. "Wake up, Natalie, my love, it's the sunrise."
The end
"Whispered Words" was written by Peter Yarrow and appears on the Peter, Paul and Mary album "No Easy Walk to Freedom".
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