This is a FK/HL xover. All the FK characters and concept belong to
TriStar, Inc. and the HL characters and concept belong to Davis/
Panzer Productions, Inc. No infringement is intended. I have included
a slightly altered version of 'Ashes to Ashes' (FK ep), as a part of
this story. I have borrowed parts of the dialogue from the said
episode, but the rest of it is my own. This story, and all of the
original characters are copyrighted by me. This story follows my
previous ones: 'The Collector', 'Dream On' and 'Out of the Darkness'
which can be found on my web page at:
http://www.dlc.fi/~dce/fic/index.html

All and any comments are welcome.

And last but not least, special thanks to Diane Franz for beta
reading this for me, and to Cathy for her great suggestions and for
putting up with my endless questions.




CHILDREN - THE LITTLE BUNDLES OF JOY 
by DCE aka ViciousGurl
<geek-tastic AT gmx DOT com>
(c)1999 



Returning back to home one August evening LaCroix was greeted by a
sound of hearty laugh coming from the living-room. He recognized
Antonia's voice of course but he was quite certain that he hadn't
heard the male voice ever before. Curious, he walked over to see who
their visitor was.

"Oh Nia, you are right, it has been much too long since the last
time", LaCroix heard the strange basso say followed by agreeing
sounds from Antonia. LaCroix got to the living-room doorway just in
time to see how the man took Antonia's hand into his own and patted
it affectionately. He also noticed that Antonia didn't seem to mind
the gesture one bit, on the contrary, her smile seemed exceptionally
warm. LaCroix's posture stiffened somewhat as he witnessed the
obvious fondness between the two.

Antonia chose that moment to look up and saw him standing silently in
the shadows. Her smile widened, and getting up from the couch she
walked over to him.

"Lucien, come in. Here's someone I want you to meet." Taking his hand
she lead him in front of her visitor. "Uncle Sal, this is Lucien
LaCroix. Lucien, this is Salvatore Rosetti."

LaCroix inspected the elderly man who seemed to take his time
scrutinizing him up in return. The man was old enough to be Antonia's
father, but he seemed to be in a good shape none the less. His hair
had turned gray but his brown eyes were still bright, and as they met
his blue ones they revealed a quick and sharp mind.

"Uncle Sal is like a second father to me", Antonia explained after
the men had exchanged greetings. "Our families were neighbors when I
was growing up but I kinda lost touch after Elaine died..." Her voice
grew quieter towards the end.

Salvatore patted her shoulder in understanding. "But, that is all
behind us now, and it's time to look at the future, my girl."

"I know." Antonia gave him a warm smile before she turned to LaCroix.
"Anyway, you can imagine my surprise when we bumped into each other
tonight at the bookstore."

"So I take it you live in Toronto now, Mr. Rosetti?" LaCroix asked
politely.

"No. Maria, that's my wife, and I are just visiting for our
granddaughter's christening", Salvatore answered.

"What?" Antonia asked surprised. "I had no idea that Vinny's moved to
Toronto. Then again, I didn't even know that he's married yet, let
alone a father."

"Oh, it's not Vincenzo, I was talking about Fernando", Salvatore
explained looking at Antonia carefully.

"Nando's married?" Antonia's eyes widened in surprise.

"Yes, he and Cheryl got married a year ago", Salvatore said slowly.

LaCroix witnessed their exchange silently, wondering who this Nando
person was, exactly, and why should Antonia care whether or not he
had gotten married.

"Nando, married", Antonia repeated shaking her head a little. "Well,
it was about time, I'd say. Good for him." Her bright smile revealed
that she had gotten over her initial bewilderment.

Salvatore nodded, relieved at her response. "He and Cheryl are good
for each other." Then he chuckled softly. "Just wait when I tell
Fernando about you, he thought you'd never settle down."

The look Antonia gave him was good-natured, but her voice was dry as
she objected: "Well, it's not *that* surprising, Uncle Sal."

"I know, I know", Salvatore agreed, still chuckling. "But I think
it'll be a while before that boy will believe me. After all, he had
hoped..." He stopped as he realized what he had been about to say but
continued then briskly: "But, that's in the past as well. So, what
about the two of you, how did you meet?"

Antonia gave LaCroix a quick glance before she answered Salvatore's
question. "Oh, quite by accident, really. Lucien helped me out when I
had gotten myself into a little trouble."

The corners of LaCroix's mouth twitched just a little at her
explanation, but he soon controlled his expression. 'A little
trouble' was probably the understatement of the decade, he thought
dryly.

"Ah, you always did have a knack at getting yourself into jam, Nia."
Salvatore nodded with a twinkle in his eye. "And how long have you
two been married?" he then asked, glancing at Antonia's ring.

"For a year at the end of this month", LaCroix answered smoothly,
taking Antonia's hand into his. He noticed that she gave him an odd
look from the corner of her eye, but luckily she didn't say anything
to contradict his white lie.

Salvatore looked at LaCroix seriously. "I hope you know how lucky you
are, son."

LaCroix felt Antonia's hand grasp tighter around his when she heard
Salvatore call him 'son'. He wasn't sure if it was to stop herself
from laughing or if she was worried that he might take offence.

"I assure you, Mr. Rosetti that I am well aware of my good fortune",
he answered keeping his tone even, and felt Antonia's death grip ease
a little.

The older man nodded approvingly at his answer but kept his brown
eyes fixed on him tightly. "I hope you don't mind me saying this,
son, but you're not exactly what I had pictured little Nia here to
settle down with."

"Uncle Sal!" Antonia sounded mortified, and her grip around LaCroix's
hand would've stopped his blood circulation had it not been
practically non-existent to begin with.

LaCroix didn't know whether to be annoyed at the man's meddling or
amused at Antonia's discomfort but he kept his voice even as he
answered: "No doubt I'm not what Antonia's parents would've chosen
for her, but..."

At this point Antonia couldn't keep her silence anymore. "Excuse me,
both of you. In case you've forgotten I *am* a grown woman and I
assure you that I am *quite* capable of making my own choices. And I
chose Lucien. As for my parents, I'm positive that in time they
would've learned to love Lucien as much as I do." Her breathing came
a bit more rapidly and her face was slightly flushed but with effort
she had managed to keep her voice under control during her speech.

"Nia, I didn't mean to offend, but you know me. I'm not one to beat
about the bush, I say it as it is. And since your parents aren't here
to look after you anymore, I feel that it's my duty to make sure that
you're all right", Salvatore said looking at her so sincerely that
she couldn't stay mad at him.

Giving a small sigh she smiled at him. "I appreciate the thought,
Uncle Sal, it's really very sweet of you, but I promise that I
wouldn't be here with Lucien if I didn't want to. So you see, there's
really nothing for you to be worried about."

"Oh, I know you can take care of yourself, Nia, you've got a good
head on your shoulders. But you can't blame an old fool for worrying
and meddling just a little bit", Salvatore said with a wink.

"Uncle Sal, you're *not* old, and you're certainly not a fool",
Antonia protested, laughing a little at his tactics.

"Ah, you're being kind to an old man, my child", Salvatore said
smiling. Then he turned to face LaCroix again and quite unfazed
continued his not so gentle interrogation. "So, what do you do for a
living, son?"

LaCroix saw Antonia close her eyes and shake her head in surrender.
He squeezed her hand reassuringly before he turned his full attention
back to Salvatore again. This father-in-law type of questioning was a
new experience for him and those were becoming scarcer with each
century. And although the idea of just hypnotizing the old man
crossed his mind more than once he resisted the urge, mainly because
he had a strong inkling that Antonia wouldn't take it too kindly. It
didn't take a genius to see that the old man meant a lot to her, so
he bore the questions as best he could.

"Would you like a tour around the house, Uncle Sal?" Antonia asked,
sounding hopeful after he had finally exhausted all of his questions.
Although LaCroix had seemed calm enough during most of it she felt
that it was a *really* good idea to try and get Salvatore out of his
way for a moment.


"This is a fine house", Salvatore declared after the grand tour.
"You've done well for yourself, Nia."

Antonia looked around her office where they had ended up. "I have,
haven't I", she agreed, pleased with his praise. "Although, the house
is actually a gift from Lucien."

"He seems like a good man", Salvatore conceded after a small silence.
"But are you truly happy, Nia? Don't get me wrong but isn't he a
little too old for you?"

Antonia couldn't help a chuckle as she heard him; he didn't know the
half of it. "I think he's just the right age", was all she told him
however, while trying to control her sudden urge to giggle. "And he
makes me very happy", she continued a tad more seriously after she
could control her expression again.

"Well, it's all right then." Salvatore nodded, satisfied with her
assurance.

They were both absorbed into their thoughts for a few moments.

"Did you know that Fernando searched for you for almost a year after
you left?" Salvatore then asked suddenly.

His question took Antonia completely by surprise. "No, I didn't know
that", she answered him slowly.

Salvatore's sharp eyes took in her expression. Then, nodding a little
to himself as if he had found what he'd been looking for from her
face, he said a little sadly: "That boy loved you, Nia. I've never
seen him so lost. He was obsessed at finding you. His mother and I
thought that we'd lose him for good."

Antonia was astonished, and she didn't know quite what to say. "I had
no idea", she finally breathed, staring at him wide-eyed. "I'm sorry,
Uncle Sal, I never meant to hurt anyone. I did what I thought was for
the best at the time. I just.. I just couldn't stay after Elaine..."

"I know, I know", Salvatore assured, patting her arm gently. "Don't
misunderstand me, I'm not blaming you. You and Elaine were always
like the daughters Maria and I never had. It's just that we always
hoped that one day you and Fernando would...."

Antonia gave him a wistful smile, understanding him perfectly. "I
know. And there *was* a time when we thought so, too... I did love
him, Uncle Sal."

Salvatore returned her smile, shaking his head a little, remembering.
"He was devastated when you turned down his proposal..."

"We were kids!" Antonia reminded him, her smile coming more easily
now. "Believe me, I wouldn't have made him happy. Not like Cheryl
obviously has done. He *is* happy, isn't he?"

"Yes, he is", Salvatore confirmed with obvious contentment.

Smiling, Antonia arched her brow. "Well then...?"

"You're right." Salvatore gave a short laugh. "Don't get me wrong,
Cheryl's a fine woman but I just can't talk shop with her. She
doesn't know the first thing about security business."

"Well, not everybody can be as crazy as we are." Antonia grinned.

They were both pleased that the mood of the conversation had turned
lighter. To keep it in that line Salvatore said: "Speaking of
business, are you still involved in it?"

"Of course", Antonia exclaimed. "As a matter of fact I've put up my
own security consultant company, Twilight Security."

"Never heard of it", Salvatore said bluntly.

"Most people haven't." Antonia grinned. "It's still all pretty new -
and *small*, but I'm enjoying it."

"So, it's just a consulting company? You don't provide the whole
service?" Salvatore asked. "Do you think that's wise?"

Antonia shrugged a little. "Because of Lucien's work the hours we
keep are pretty odd, so it's more practical that way, it allows me to
do most of the work at home. But it's good business, too, in the long
run, don't you think?"

"You could be right. Specializing can pay off", Salvatore allowed
looking thoughtful. 

"I think it will. Besides, I'm not in a hurry", Antonia said with a
slight smile.


LaCroix had remained in the living-room during Antonia and
Salvatore's tour to give them some privacy, but that hadn't stopped
him from eavesdropping in on their conversation in the least. To say
that he'd been surprised at some of the revelations would have been a
gross underestimation.

Shaking his head he tapped his finger to his knee. He had imagined
that he'd known Antonia fairly well, but obviously he had been
mistaken. The lady was certainly full of surprises still, he thought
with a gleam in his eyes. He would like nothing better than to
discuss them with her, but that would have to wait. He was due to be
on the air as the Nightcrawler shortly.

He found his way to Antonia's office and excused himself. However,
that was not before Salvatore had invited them for a dinner the next
evening. After a short discussion it was agreed upon that they would
be there, but only after dinner.

***

"Boy, I'm beat", Antonia sighed dropping down at her dressing table,
toweling her hair after a quick shower. It was only an hour after
sunup but it had been a long night.

LaCroix watched as she stretched her neck muscles a little before she
began brushing her tangled hair. He had been pretty quiet that
morning. He'd had a lot in his mind, but now he felt it was about
time to address some of the issues he'd been mulling over.

"Are you too tired to have a little... chat?" he asked lightly,
keeping his eyes on her reflection.

"About what?" Antonia asked absentmindedly while trying to solve a
particularly nasty tangle.

"Oh, I don't know... Why don't we begin with 'Nando' and the rest of
the Rosettis." LaCroix's voice was deceptively soft.

His tone caught Antonia's attention but she kept her own voice light.
"What about them?"

"You and Fernando seem to have had quite a history together, and yet
I can't recall you ever mentioning him", LaCroix said keeping his
narrowed eyes fixed on her through the mirror.

Antonia put down her brush and returned his gaze, amused. "Hasn't
anyone ever told you that eavesdropping's a nasty habit?"

"On the contrary, my dear. I've always found it most useful, not to
mention fun."

Antonia simply lifted her brow at his words and made a noncommittal
sound. Then she calmly began applying moisturizer on her face.

LaCroix waited for a moment for some additional response but when it
became obvious that she wasn't going to offer any he prompted with a
tad of impatience: "Well?"

"Well what?" Antonia asked nonchalantly. Then, seeing his expression
through the mirror, she turned to face him and sighed lightly. "We
were high school sweethearts. He asked me to marry him. I said no.
End of story."

LaCroix regarded her obviously sincere form, but he just couldn't
drop the nagging feeling he'd had all night. "It may have been the
end of story for you, my dear, but it sounded to me like he's still
harboring some unrequited love towards you."

"What?!" Antonia couldn't help an incredulous laugh. Then she took a
closer look at him, and her laugh changed into a strangely pleased
smile. "You're jealous, aren't you?" When he kept his expressionless
mask on and said nothing she got up and walked over to him. "Come on,
you heard Uncle Sal. Nando's a happily married man, and a new father
at that. So, you see that there's nothing for you to be jealous
about." She ended her speech with a quick, teasing peck on his lips.

Instead of letting her move away from him after the kiss, LaCroix
tightened his hold on her to keep her close. He watched her face
soften under his intense gaze and found himself becoming somewhat
distracted as he got absorbed into her eyes. The nagging feeling was
replaced by a firm certainty of her love, and for the first time that
night he felt himself relax.

Brushing a damp strand of hair from her face he asked, curious: "The
Rosettis seem to mean a lot to you. Why haven't you ever talked about
them before?"

Antonia shrugged a little and dropped her eyes to his chest. "I don't
know." Glancing up at him quickly she continued a bit uncertainly:
"They're part of my past, and I... It's getting better but it still
hurts a little to think of Elaine. The Rosettis were such a big part
of our life it's... It's hard to remember them without thinking of
her."

LaCroix could see the pain in her eyes as she talked about her
sister, and he understood. There were certainly things in his own
past that he chose not to reminisce if could help it. "I think I
understand what you mean, my dear."

Antonia looked up into his blue eyes, those eyes which held so many
secrets and revealed so little unless he chose otherwise, and for a
second she could see a glimpse of his past regrets. "You really do,
don't you?" she said softly, wondering briefly what those regrets
were.

Then she became absorbed into her own memories again, and she smiled
despite herself. LaCroix listened silently as she slowly began to
talk.

"I've known the Rosettis for as long as I can remember. We kids grew
up together and for the longest time we were practically
inseparable." Antonia paused for a moment and let out a soft laugh.
"The things I remember the best are silly things mostly. Like Aunt
Maria's cooking... She used to make these monster sandwiches and to
die for chocolate chip cookies. We could go on for days with them
alone." Antonia stared into distance and sighed a little, a trace of
a smile on her lips. "And Nando... He was my first love... it was
puppy love but still... I gave him a bloody nose once when I was six
years old after he said that I couldn't do something because I was a
girl. I remember how I used to get into trouble and he and Elaine
would try to bail me out or take the blame for themselves..."

Slowly she returned back to the present, her eyes became focused
again and the tone of her voice became lighter. "And it was Uncle Sal
who got me interested in the security business. He taught me
practically everything I know about computers, and when I graduated
he got me a job from the same company he was working for."

Meeting LaCroix's serious eyes she gave him a half grin. "So there,
now you know practically all there is to know of my secret past."

LaCroix allowed a small smile to grace his lips but his eyes remained
serious. "They all seem to have been even more important to you than
I realized. But why did Fernando feel it necessary to try and search
for you? Surely the Rosettis knew of your plans to leave after your
sister's death."

Antonia freed herself from his now loose hold and turned her back at
him. Her head dropped to her chest as she tried to find the right
words. The truth was that, in retrospect, she wasn't very proud or
happy about the way she had handled the situation back then but at
the time it had felt like the only solution.

Sighing she turned to face LaCroix again. "Not exactly. See, I wasn't
the easiest person to be around back then. The investigation and the
trial seemed to go on forever, and I just couldn't handle people's
sympathy... or their love. I just wanted to be left alone. I did
mention, in passing, that I might be leaving but I 'forgot' to tell
them that I had already packed my bags."

Antonia glanced at LaCroix and sighed in frustration. "I mean, what
was I going to tell them? That I was going after Garrett and his
buddy? They would've only tried to stop me", she said quietly. "So, I
chose the easy way and didn't tell them. I guess I should've but I
wasn't exactly thinking straight back then."

LaCroix went to her and closed her gently into his arms, she looked
drained both physically as well as emotionally. He just held her
quietly for a while until he felt her relax a little. The he spoke
softly in to her ear: "If seeing them brings back too many memories
we can always cancel..."

"No." Antonia lifted her head from his chest and looked up to him.
"No, I want to go. Most of the memories are good ones, and the ones
that aren't... Well, maybe it's time to put them to rest. Besides, I
want you to meet them all. I know you're gonna love them."

LaCroix returned her smile but said nothing. He wasn't quite as
confident as she was of the success of the event, but he was looking
forward to meeting the people who had obviously helped to make
Antonia the person she was today.

********

Antonia kept a polite smile firmly in place as she listened to Thomas
Clay even though she really wanted to stamp her feet and demand to
know why she had been made to waste her time. Silently she reminded
herself that it really wasn't Mr. Clay's fault. Even though he was
the manager of the Sanctum club the owners were the ones who had the
final say in whether or not they approved of her plans for a better
security system for the club.

The Sanctum had had a string of problems with security lately and Mr.
Clay had been very specific about what kind of a system he'd had in
mind. Keeping in mind his instructions and the given budget, Antonia
had delivered what she had thought was a pretty good plan for the
club. But obviously the owners hadn't agreed with her or Mr. Clay.
Instead, they had suddenly decided that they wanted something more
sophisticated and had raised the budget considerably. The only thing
they hadn't changed their minds about was the time schedule.

"Yes, I think I understand what you have in mind, Mr. Clay", Antonia
said keeping her voice even and polite. "I'll get you the new
proposal in a few days time."

"Thank you, Ms. Jones", Thomas Clay said with his heavy Jamaican
accent as he got up and extended his well manicured hand to signal
that the meeting was over. "I'll look forward to it."

Shaking his hand shortly Antonia gathered her papers in to her
briefcase and walked out of the office.

Once she was out in the club area she allowed herself a deep sigh.
Looking around she noticed that there was a fair crowd present
already even though it was still pretty early. Then, remembering the
time she realized that she'd better get going or she'd be late.
Straightening her posture a little she headed towards the front door.

As she passed the bar she saw a familiar looking mass of golden curls
near by. She walked a little closer to make sure that she wasn't
mistaken before she spoke up.

"Urs. Hi."

Urs moved her eyes from the dance floor and smiled surprised.
"Antonia."

They had met at the Raven when Antonia had still frequented the club
and although they weren't friends exactly they were what one might
call good acquaintances. Antonia had liked Urs who always seemed to
have a smile and a kind word to everyone from the start, but she had
always felt that underneath it all Urs wasn't a very happy person.
She had always struck to Antonia as a beautiful, but a very fragile
doll and it never seized to amaze her that she of all people was a
vampire.

"This is a surprise", Antonia said returning the smile. "I wouldn't
have expected to see you here. Are you alone, or...?"

"She's with me", someone whispered in to her ear, scaring the living
daylights out of her.

Pressing a hand to her heart to slow it's race Antonia turned to the
culprit and breathed: "Vachon." After she had managed to gather her
wits again she continued dryly: "You enjoy doing that, don't you?"

A lazy half grin was Vachon's only answer to her comment. Then,
eyeing her dark blue silk suit he said: "Nice outfit. A little
formal, but nice."

"Thanks, I think", Antonia said trying to figure out his expression.
"Since I'm here for business, formal is good", she continued then.
"But what brings you two here? This doesn't really strike to me as
your kind of place." Antonia gave a meaningful glance towards the
other patrons who, as far as she could tell, were all mortals.

"'Mavericks' is playing tonight", Urs explained.

"Mavericks?"

"It's a band. Vachon plays the guitar."

Antonia turned to Vachon and said surprised: "I didn't know you
played in a band."

"Well, you haven't been to the Raven lately."

"No, I haven't", Antonia said calmly. She knew that Vachon didn't
expect any explanations and she wasn't offering any. She had bumped
into him a couple of times since she'd stopped going to the Raven but
he had never tried to pry into her affairs. That was one of the
reasons Antonia had always liked him, he didn't put his nose where it
didn't belong to and he expected others to return the favor. That was
pretty much how Antonia liked it as well.

"Will you stay and listen to the band?" Urs asked then. "They're
really good and they go up in about an hour."

"I'd love to but I'm running late as it is", Antonia said glancing at
her watch. "Sorry."

"Well, another night then."

"Definitely." Antonia smiled at Urs. "Well, I gotta... Oh, now that I
remember, I've been meaning to ask you something, Vachon."

Seeing his raised brow she continued: "About your bike. See, I've
planned on getting one for myself but the thing is I don't know too
much about them, and I was wondering if you could maybe help me out a
bit?"

Vachon stared at her for a few seconds and blinked. "You want me to
go shopping with you?"

"No." Antonia chuckled at the idea. "I just thought that maybe you
could give me some info on what to look for. You know, about the
different models, what to be careful about and stuff", she then
explained. "But only if you don't mind."

"No, it's cool", Vachon said shrugging his shoulders slightly.

"Great. Thanks", Antonia sighed with a big smile. "Well, I better fly
or Lucien will have a fit. Urs, it was nice seeing you again. And
Vachon, I'll get back to you about that bike thing. See ya."

With that she was out of the club leaving the two vampires wondering
how she could even jokingly mention 'LaCroix' and 'a fit' in the same
sentence.

********

LaCroix was in the study when he heard the front door being opened
and then slammed shut a second later. The next thing he heard was
Antonia running upstairs and yelling: "I'm late, I know! I'm just
gonna change and I'll be down in a sec!"

It took her a little longer than a second but soon enough Antonia
presented herself at the study where LaCroix was calmly reading a
newspaper. Eyeing appreciatingly the sheer mauve summer dress Antonia
had changed into he finished off his glass of blood and put down the
paper.

"How did your meeting go at the Sanctum?"

"Ugh, don't even get me started on that one", Antonia sighed making a
face. Then she continued briskly: "Well, I think we better get going
or we'll be more than just a little late."

With a small bow LaCroix offered her his arm and led her to the car.

***

"Oh, let me look at you, child. You haven't changed an ounce", the
small elderly woman, who LaCroix guessed correctly to be Maria
Rosetti, declared enclosing Antonia into a tight hug.

"It is *so* good to see you again, Aunt Maria." Antonia's voice was a
little choked as she returned the hug.

"We were so worried about you, child, when you disappeared, what...
has it been almost three years already?" Maria shook her head, not
believing the quick passage of time. "When Salvatore told us that
he'd seen you.. well, tell you the truth I thought he was making the
whole thing up, but here you are", Maria babbled not being able to
turn her eyes from Antonia's face.

"Oh, I believe you, Aunt Maria. I felt the same way when Uncle Sal
and I bumped into each other in that bookstore. I couldn't believe my
eyes!" Antonia said with a smile so wide it was threatening to split
her face in two.

Then, noticing Maria's look, she apologized for her lack of manners
and introduced LaCroix to her. LaCroix in return presented Maria with
a bottle of non-alcoholic champagne they had brought with them.

"What are you all doing in here?" Salvatore emerged to the hall. "Let
the girl step in, Maria. The boys are already waiting for them in the
living-room."

LaCroix witnessed another bear-hug scene, this time with Salvatore,
before they were finally led inside the house.

The pretty young woman had to be Cheryl, LaCroix concluded letting
his eyes take in the details of a pair of huge, green eyes and long
black hair, but he was actually more interested in the two men
standing beside her. The younger one was a good head taller than his
father. His longish brown hair was tied into a ponytail and he was
clad casually in to jeans and a sweater. The other man wasn't quite
as tall as his brother and his hair was darker and cut short, but it
would've been obvious to anyone that the two were related. They both
had the same brown eyes and dark brows, and the resemblance was only
amplified by the way they both carried themselves.

"Nia, you look just as I remembered you", the younger man said
stepping towards Antonia. They did a strange dance trying to decide
whether to hug each other or just shake hands, but finally they got
their steps together and shared a brief hug complete with a slightly
nervous laugh.

That must be Fernando, LaCroix thought to himself, only to be
corrected by Antonia a second later.

"I think I'll take that as a compliment", Antonia said with an easy
grin. "But you certainly have changed, Vinny. The ponytail's a nice
touch."

"Nice touch?" Salvatore's voice revealed his disagreement. "The boy
needs a haircut."

Vincenzo rolled his eyes, obviously this wasn't the first time he'd
heard that, and Antonia grinned at him sympathetically.

LaCroix watched this exchange and it was clear to him that even
though they hadn't seen each other for a few years the familiar
feeling of a sort of younger brother-older sister relationship was
still very much there. The friendly atmosphere continued as Antonia
greeted Cheryl but that was changed as soon as she finally turned to
Fernando.

"Hello Nando." Antonia's voice was soft as her gray eyes met
Fernando's brown ones.

"It's nice to see you again, Nia." Fernando's voice was polite but
detached as they shook hands.

Antonia seemed a little stunned at the coldness of his voice but she
soon recovered. "I hear that congratulations are in order", she then
said. "First on your marriage and now for your new baby girl", she
continued at Fernando and Cheryl's questioning looks.

"Thank you", Cheryl said smiling at her.

"Dad told us that you've gotten married as well", Fernando said
sounding disinterested. "So, I guess we should congratulate you,
too."

Cheryl repeated her husbands sentiments with somewhat more sincerity.
After Antonia had thanked her a small, awkward silence filled the
room but Salvatore interrupted it soon enough by introducing LaCroix
to everyone.

"Well, tell us what you've been doing since we last saw you", Maria
prompted after everyone had sat down. "Where did you go after you
left?"

LaCroix could tell that Antonia wasn't totally at ease with the
subject but she answered to the question non the less.

"I was pretty much all over the place, really", Antonia said keeping
her tone light. "I went to Mexico and did a little traveling there,
then I got back to the States and just cruised around the country
before I came to Canada. I didn't stay anywhere for too long. I guess
you could say that I pretty much just wondered around for about a
year or so."

She had made it sound as if she had spent that time having fun and
relaxing on her extended 'holiday'. LaCroix had to give her credit
for being able to tell the truth and yet not tell it at all. She
*had* traveled around a lot but she had just left out a tiny detail
from her story, the reason *why* she had done it all.

"No wonder Nando couldn't keep up with..." Vincenzo began before he
realized what he'd just been about to say. Letting his voice trail
off he gave his brother an apologetic glance.

"So, when you came to Canada you settled down here in Toronto?" Maria
tried to cover for her son's slip.

"Not exactly", Antonia explained. "I was in Toronto just for a little
while before I went to live in Paris. But then Lucien came there and
he brought me back to Toronto, to stay." Antonia finished her story
and gave LaCroix a quick smile.

"Well, you've certainly seen your share of the world, then",
Salvatore commented.

"I guess you could say that", Antonia answered with a smile. "But
that's enough of me, what about all of you? Vinny?"

"Oh, I'm just beginning my second year residency at the County",
Vincenzo answered, a little startled when everyone's attention was
suddenly aimed at him.

"Have you decided yet what you're going to specialize in?" Antonia
asked. "I seem to remember that you were really in to surgery when
you were starting your studies."

"Yeah well.. I found that my true calling is in pediatrics", Vincenzo
said with a modest smile.

"That's great, Vinny", Antonia said giving him a big smile. "I hear
that it's really one of the toughest fields there is."

"Well it's challenging, that's for sure, but I like it", Vincenzo
said with sudden seriousness.

"Yes, he's made us all very proud", Maria chipped in, sounding very
much the proud mother.

They talked a little more of what everyone had been doing lately but
inevitably the discussion finally turned into reminiscing. Maria and
Salvatore warmed up as they talked about the mischiefs the children
had gotten themselves into when they had been younger.

To her surprise Antonia found that it was actually fun and quite easy
to remember those times, and even talking about her parents wasn't as
hard as she had thought it would be.

Fernando seemed to be exceptionally quiet during most of this but
Vincenzo felt quite at ease as he recollected some outrageous stories
of the four of them.

LaCroix listened to it all with great interest. He could easily
imagine the young, carefree Antonia that was being talked about and
he was glad that they had accepted Salvatore's invitation for this
evening. But he could tell that the reminiscing wasn't always easy,
especially for Cheryl. She appeared quite uncomfortable when it
seemed that Antonia and Fernando's names were often mentioned in
pairs. She did a good enough job at controlling her expressions but
LaCroix could hear her pulse rise more than once.

When the air was cut by a baby's loud wail Cheryl got to her feet
quickly. "I'll get it", she said to her husband, and excusing herself
left the room.

As if in mutual agreement both Maria and Salvatore turned to LaCroix
and made polite conversation with him, leaving Antonia with Vincenzo
and Fernando. It didn't take Vincenzo long to realize what his
parents were trying to do. Personally he felt that it was way too
early to get Antonia and Fernando confront one another but non the
less he soon made his excuses and mumbling something about the
champagne bottle left them alone.

There was an uneasy silence which Antonia cut with a short laugh and
an effort for humor. "Well that was subtle of him."

Fernando didn't take his cue, but studying her properly for the first
time that evening, said: "You look as if you haven't changed much."

"But?" Antonia had a distinct feeling that she heard a 'but' coming.

"But inside, you're not the same anymore."

Antonia contemplated his words for a while, not quite sure what to
make of them. She had never felt uneasy around Fernando before but
now she did. She supposed that if Fernando had really taken her
leaving three years ago as badly as Salvatore had implied it wasn't
surprising that he wasn't acting too friendly just now.

Antonia gave a small shrug. "I guess that shouldn't be such a
surprise. I have been through a lot."

"Well you certainly put us through a lot." There was more than just a
tad of bitterness in Fernando's voice.

"If that's a subtle reference to the way I left, I'm sorry. It was
never my intention to hurt anyone, you least of all", Antonia said
sincerely. She wanted him to believe her, and to be her friend again
instead of being this cold stranger she saw before her.

Fernando regarded her silently for a moment before he spoke again.
"Still, it wouldn't have killed you to let us know what you were
planning, Nia."

"So you could've tried to stop me?" Antonia asked gently, looking
straight into his eyes. "I had to leave, Nando."

Fernando turned away from her gaze. "Well I hope you found what you
were looking for."

"I did", Antonia said quietly, the memory of how she had killed
Garrett playing itself vividly in her mind.

The quiet words gave her Fernando's undivided attention again. He
studied her carefully and noticed the faraway look in her eyes, as
well as the pain she couldn't quite hide from him. Seeing her again
had brought back the memories and the hurt he had thought to have
left behind a long time ago. She had been so important to him for so
long, in so many ways, that he couldn't have thought ever wanting to
hurt her but now he just wanted to give back a little of the hurt she
had put him through.

"You don't look too happy about it. What, doesn't the old guy live up
to your expectations?" he asked mockingly, nodding briefly at
LaCroix's way.

Antonia couldn't believe her ears, and she could only hope that
LaCroix hadn't heard him. No matter how betrayed Fernando might have
felt when she'd left he had just crossed the line with her. Staring
at him through narrowed eyes Antonia waited until she could control
her voice again before she said tightly: "I'm gonna pretend that I
didn't hear you just say that."

Fernando had the grace to look embarrassed at his own behavior. "I'm
sorry", he sighed quietly. "I didn't mean... I'm sorry."

Antonia regarded him, offended, for a moment before answering him.
"As you should. We're no longer kids, Nando."

Reluctantly, Fernando met her eyes again. He could remember a time
when he had been able to see everything she tried to hide by just
looking into her eyes. Now the depths in those gray eyes had only
gotten deeper and their steel had hardened, and he could no longer
read her like an open book.

"You *have* changed." It stung a little to admit it out loud, but
studying the woman before him he realized just how true it really
was. She wasn't the young girl he had fallen in love with any more.

"We both have", Antonia said echoing his thoughts. Trying to lighten
the mood she then continued with a slight smile: "I mean, just look
at you. You're a settled family man, now."

Appreciating her effort, especially after his own behavior just then,
Fernando returned her smile and played along. "Yeah, who would've
believed, eh?"

"I would've", Antonia said, her eyes warm again. "I'm happy for you
Nando, you've made it."

Fernando could see the sincerity in her eyes. Nodding a little he
gave a quick glance towards LaCroix who was still deep in discussion
with his parents. "If he makes you happy, then I'm happy for you,
too", he said and meant it. Seeing Antonia again had finally enabled
him to let go of the past.

They shared their first genuine smile together that night. Then
Antonia's smiled turned into a grin and she said: "Okay, now that
we've agreed that we're both slap happy, could we..."

She was, however, interrupted by Cheryl's return to the living-room
with the baby in her arms.

"She just refuses to go back to sleep", Cheryl sighed sitting down on
the couch again.

"What's her name?" Antonia asked smiling down at the baby.

"Mia", Fernando answered with evident pride in his voice.

"Hello Mia", Antonia crooned. "You're *so* lucky that you seem to
take after you mother..."

That erupted the party into a hearty laugh while Fernando tried to,
unsuccessfully, look hurt. As the women gathered around the baby the
men grouped together and shook their heads on all their fuzzing and
cooing.

"Would you like to hold her?" LaCroix heard Cheryl ask Antonia. He
watched in fascination as Cheryl carefully placed the baby in
Antonia's arms. He had never seen such a look of wonder on Antonia's
face before. Her eyes softened as she played with the child's tiny
fingers and LaCroix didn't need the vampire bond to know what she was
thinking about at that moment.

Watching the others was quite revealing as well. Both Salvatore and
Fernando's eyes spoke of things that might have been when they
watched Antonia hold the baby. But then they turned they eyes to
Cheryl and it wasn't hard to notice the tender smiles they got on
their faces. Vincenzo obviously didn't have any past wishes or
regrets and he was still busy trying to get the champagne bottle
opened, while Maria and Cheryl only had eyes for Mia.

LaCroix saw Antonia swallow a little as she looked at the little
bundle in her arms and he knew what her regret was. As if sensing his
eyes on her Antonia looked up and gave him a slightly tremulous smile
across the room.

For a moment LaCroix allowed his thoughts to wander and remembered
the time when he had still been mortal. The thought of his mortal
daughter wasn't far behind. Divia. He had loved her more than
anything else in the world and she had become his worst nightmare...

Bringing himself back to the present he let his eyes rest on Antonia.
The thought of her being pregnant with his child filled him with a
sudden flood of tenderness. Their child would be -- a miracle, he
quickly finished the thought knowing full well that it could never
be.

Sighing inaudibly he was suddenly filled with all together different
emotions. They were so powerful and sudden that it took him a moment
to gather himself again and realize their source.

His mouth watered at the taste of blood which wasn't really there,
and he felt his canines ache. He could feel the joy of the first
kill, the first real feeding through his link with his youngest
child.

So, Natalie had finally joined the ranks of the undead for real. A
small smile played on LaCroix's lips as he shared her experience. He
was so absorbed into Natalie's emotions that it took him a while to
realize that Antonia was standing beside him, looking worriedly at
him.

"Is everything all right?" she asked searching his face.

He gave her a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, my dear. Everything is
just perfect."

************************

A week later


LaCroix stood in front of the window, deep in his thoughts. The sun
had just set and the first stars of the evening were emerging on the
darkening sky. He heard Antonia's light steps as she got downstairs
and saw her reflection through the window when she paused at the
doorway before entering the living-room. As she got closer her
heartbeat grew louder in his sensitive ears and then he felt her arms
snake lovingly around his waist.

"Hi." Her voice was a little husky and it was obvious that she had
just woken up after a good day's sleep.

LaCroix bowed his head slightly and touched her knuckles with his
cold lips. "My dear."

He felt her warmth engulf him like a flame as she pressed a little
closer to him and rested her cheek against his back. "What were you
thinking about?"

LaCroix was silent for a moment before he answered. "Natalie."

He felt her hold her breath for a few seconds before she asked
lightly: "She's still having nightmares?"

"Yes", LaCroix sighed.

"And you want to go to New York." It wasn't a question but a
recognition of a fact.

LaCroix felt the corners of his mouth twist at her calm words, she
knew him so well. "Yes." He then turned to face her and met her
bright, gray eyes. "It has been a week already, and I believe I have
given Nicholas ample opportunity to take care of the situation."

"I know you have." Her dry smile told him that his explanation wasn't
needed. "Maybe Nick hasn't taken care of it because he can't. He's
not her master, you are." She let go of him and walked over to the
bowl of fruits on the table. Picking up an apple she asked: "So, when
are you leaving?"

LaCroix watched her take a bite and then lick her lips as the juice
run down her chin. Distracted, it took him a while before he could
come up with an answer to her simple question. "Ah, I was thinking
tomorrow."

Antonia seemed surprised. "That soon?"

"Well, there really is no point in postponing what must be done, now
is there, my dear?"

"No, of course not", Antonia agreed. "I was just thinking that if you
waited for two more days I could come with you. The Sanctum job is
almost finished, and there's this exhibition in New York about all
the latest gadgets in security business I'd love to go to. What do
you think?"

"It has been a week already, so two more days shouldn't make that
much difference", LaCroix said giving her a slow smile.

*********

Two nights later they were on a plane to New York.

Natalie was still very much a fledgling and she hadn't learned to
block her emotions yet, so her nightmares had invaded LaCroix's
dreams as well. He could have, of course, shut her out himself but he
was curious and wanted to know exactly how Natalie tried to deal with
the situation. As a result, LaCroix hadn't slept well for over a week
now and he wasn't in the best of moods. Jealously he glanced at
Antonia who was calmly flipping through a Metropolitan Museum
guidebook. She was planning on playing a tourist and go sightseeing
while he would take care of his children.

Sighing, LaCroix thought of Natalie again. At first he had tried to
be understanding but lately his patience had grown thin. All this
fuzz over a killing. He remembered his own excitement when it had
finally happened, Natalie's first kill. In his opinion it had been
long over due but better late and all that, or so he had thought at
the time. But then the nightmares had begun and they only seemed to
have gotten worse with time. He didn't know what Nicholas had done to
help her get over it but what ever it was it obviously wasn't enough.

That silly boy. He had expected him to know better than to allow
Natalie's first kill to be one of their own kind, but it couldn't be
helped now. It was his own fault, of course, since he had been the
one to decide that Nicholas would teach Natalie.

LaCroix shook his head. He should have known better. The boy had
probably been counting his blessings because she had gone for so long
without spilling 'innocent' blood. And now look at what it had gotten
them into. She had finally killed and now she was plagued with guilt.
Just like Nicholas.

LaCroix sighed again. They wouldn't welcome his intervention but he
wasn't about to let Nicholas infest her with his own demons and
insecurities. He had warned them of what would happen if he didn't
teach her properly, but obviously once again Nicholas hadn't listened
to him. Well, he would just have to remind both of them of their
agreement, again. Natalie was to become a stable and contended
vampire, not some 'wanna be mortal' like her brother.

********

"They live here?" Antonia eyed the skyscraper surprised, she had
expected another loft or something similar.

"Yes, evidently they felt this location was suitable because of
Nicholas' new job", LaCroix answered as they stepped in to the hall.

"Mr. and Mrs. de Brabant?" Antonia read the name plate on the wall
and turned to look at him questioningly.

LaCroix smiled a little. "Ah yes, they tied the knot soon after they
moved here."

Antonia knitted her brows slightly. "But I thought that you guys
couldn't..." Then she stopped abruptly and moved her eyes away from
him.

She looked hurt.

LaCroix could almost see the wheels turning inside her head. If
vampires could get married then why hadn't *they* done so? He didn't
need to see her face to know that that was what she was thinking
about.

Sighing inwardly LaCroix wished that he had explained her his
circumstances better back when he had given her the ring. It wasn't
that they *couldn't* get married, but simply that the modern
ceremonies held no importance or meaning to him. And the ceremony
that he could relate to would in return be meaningless for her.
Besides, in his heart he had been married to her ever since he had
put that ruby on her finger and he didn't need any piece of paper to
confirm that.

His thoughts were interrupted when the elevator arrived. It was a
quiet trip to the sixteenth floor.

Nick answered to their knock on the door.

"Good evening, Nicholas", LaCroix greeted, giving him a piercing
look.

"LaCroix. Antonia." Nick nodded and motioned for them to step in.

This was the first time either of them saw this new place, and they
looked around curiously. The living-room was decorated with warm,
earthy tones while Nick's bright paintings gave it a more colorful
look. It seemed a lot like the old loft actually, only a little bit
softer and more inviting; Natalie's input no doubt, LaCroix thought.

Natalie chose that moment to emerge from the bedroom. After
exchanging greetings LaCroix studied her carefully. She had changed
somewhat after she had become a vampire, mostly for the better. Her
complexion was soft and illuminated and her blue eyes seemed brighter
than they had been before. She also seemed to carry herself
differently, now her composure revealed self-confidence in a degree
that hadn't been there before. But she also had huge shadows under
her eyes, and she was visibly tired. LaCroix allowed a small smile to
grace his lips, that was what he had come here to fix.

"So, how are you two finding your new life? Everything going
smoothly?" He couldn't help subtly needling them, but Natalie
surprised him.

"We all know why you've come, LaCroix." She looked straight into his
eyes without any trace of fear. "Can you help me?"

Dropping all pretense of amusement LaCroix contemplated her face for
a moment before answering. "Of course." He arched his brow at the
sight of her obvious relief, and motioned for her to follow him out
to the balcony where they could have a measure of privacy.


Nick and Antonia looked after them for a moment, not quite knowing
what to do while waiting for them to return. Then Nick remembered his
manners and he asked: "Would you like to have a cup of tea?"

He saw a look of surprise flash across her face before she could
control her expression, and explained dryly: "We keep some available
for the occasional visitor."

Antonia nodded smiling. "Tea sounds good. Thanks."

She followed him in to the spotless kitchen, and watched him prepare
her drink.

"I understand that congratulations are in order", Antonia said as
they waited for the water to boil. "On your marriage", she explained
at his questioning look.

"Thank you." Nick sounded pleased and he smiled happily. "It was just
a civil ceremony, you know, no crosses or priests anywhere in sight,
but it felt right."

Antonia's own smile wasn't quite as genuine as she would've wished
but Nick didn't seem to notice. He poured the tea into a cup and
placed it in front of her.

"Mmm, this is good", Antonia said sipping carefully at the hot
liquid.

"You don't have to sound so surprised", Nick said dryly and was
rewarded with a small smile.

"So, how do you and Natalie like the Big Apple?"

Nick shrugged a little. "It's not too bad. We like the.. location."

Antonia understood his meaning well enough. "It's a nice distance
from Toronto, eh?"

"Something like that", Nick agreed with a slight smile. "I hear that
Janette moved to Montreal."

"Yeah, she felt that Quebec really wasn't the place for her after
all."

"So, you've met her again, then?"

"Yes, we've met a few times since France", Antonia admitted, silently
wondering what was it with all the questions. Guess he's just curious
on how we get along, she then decided. "Actually, she called just a
couple of days ago and told me that she's coming to Toronto for some
business thing in a week or two. She wanted to know if her room was
ready", Antonia finished with a faint grin.

Nick gave her a funny look and returned her grin. "Yeah, that sounds
like Janette, all right."

"Can I ask you a question?" Antonia asked after a moment's silence.

Nick glanced at her cautiously. They weren't exactly friends and he
wondered what she had on her mind, but then he decided that she was
probably just trying to make polite conversation to fill the silence.
"Sure, what is it?"

"The name plate outside said 'de Brabant'. I was just wondering why
you chose that name?"

Nick shrugged a little. "I don't know, it seemed.. appropriate. We
needed a fresh start since Nick Knight had outlived himself, and I
guess I wanted Nat to have my real name."

Antonia nodded slowly, he had been right, it was very appropriate.
Then she made a conscious effort to shake off the mood she was
slipping into and asked lightly: "So, I take it you're no longer a
cop?"

"No." Nick grinned a little. "You're looking at the new Professor of
Medieval History in the Medieval and Renaissance Studies program at
NYU."

Antonia arched her brow approvingly. "Very appropriate, indeed."

***

"So tell me, what is it about this killing that troubles you so,
exactly."

LaCroix calmly met Natalie's indignant stare, she obviously thought
that the question was beyond stupid. "The *killing itself* is what's
bothering me", she finally dignified him with an answer.

"Why?"

Natalie gave an exaggerated sigh. "Because it's *wrong*."

LaCroix waited until he had her concentrated attention again. "That
is your mortal morals speaking. Or is it Nicholas' morals I'm
hearing?"

"No, it's not Nick you're hearing." Natalie was getting tired of his
games, fast. "Believe it or not I figured out that killing is wrong
*long* before I ever laid eyes on Nick."

LaCroix allowed the corners of his mouth rise ever so slightly at
that. "So it is your mortal morals, then. Why don't you tell me what
happened that night."

"Why?" Natalie eyed him suspiciously. "I thought you already knew all
about it."

He did of course, but he wanted to hear her tell him. That way maybe
she would realize herself what the problem really was. "Humor me."

Natalie turned away from him and looked at the sea of lights which
spread in front of them, and forced herself to remember that fateful
night.

"He was going to kill a child", she began slowly. "She couldn't have
been more than fifteen or sixteen years old. He had her mesmerized,
and her throat was revealed...." She paused, remembering how she had
panicked at the sight, thinking that she should do something,
*anything*, to stop him from killing her. "I told him to let go off
her, but he laughed and told me to go find my own snack." Natalie
stopped again, but she soon continued in rush as if she couldn't get
it all out soon enough. "He was going to kill her, so I staked him
instead, and then I drained him."

"And how did it make you feel?" LaCroix's voice was low and it seemed
to come from a distance.

"It was... beyond everything..." Natalie whispered, re-living the
kill. She quivered as she remembered the taste of his blood on her
lips. "So delicious..."

LaCroix observed her reactions and smiled inwardly. "What did you do
with the body?"

"It was almost dawn, so I took it to the roof and left it there for
the sun", Natalie replied softly, she till hadn't snapped out of her
near trance.

"And the girl?" LaCroix prompted quietly.

"I saw her to her home, and made her forget."

LaCroix was more than pleased with her, she had done very well for a
first timer. Now he would just have to make her realize it, too.

"And now you regret saving her life, is that it, Natalie?" he asked
with a deliberately impatient tone.

"No!" Natalie finally turned to face him again. "Of course not."

"Then you regret killing him, even though you just told me that there
was no other way of saving the girl", LaCroix pressed on.

"Yes. No." Natalie didn't know what she meant to say.

"Or is it the drinking of his 'delicious' blood part that you regret
now, Natalie?" LaCroix whispered his words into her ear.

Natalie was breathing heavily as she again remembered the taste of
that particular nectar flowing down her throat. "No."

"So, you regret *not regretting* your first kill, isn't that it,
Natalie?" LaCroix wasn't really asking but making her finally
acknowledge the truth to herself.

The haunted look returned into her eyes, and she refused to face him.
"It's *wrong*", she breathed through her clenched teeth.

"But isn't it the truth, Natalie?"

She was holding on to the balcony's railing so tightly that she
accidentally bent it. "It still doesn't make it right!"

"But isn't it the truth?" He refused to let go.

"Yes!" She finally whispered, almost sobbing now.

LaCroix gave a deep sigh. Finally. Now she could begin to let go. It
still wouldn't be an easy task for her, but it was a beginning non
the less.

Natalie was frantically trying to collect herself. She couldn't
believe that she had just fallen to pieces in front of *him*. She
would have to get a grip, and fast, but she was so tired... Now that
she had finally admitted to the truth she felt better, somehow, but
the rollercoaster she had just been on had also left her weak and
vulnerable.

LaCroix could feel her inner turmoil better than she could have ever
imagined. He knew that this would probably be the perfect opportunity
to break her spirit and to submit her under his reign once and for
all, if that was what he wanted to do. But he had always taken pride
in the fact that all his children were strong and unique, and they
couldn't be like that if he chose to break them. Obedience was one
thing, but spiritless off-spring was quite another. Still, Natalie
would remember this night, and that memory would add to the ties that
bound her to him.

He bit into his own wrist and offered it to Natalie. "Drink."

Natalie's nostrils flared at the smell of his blood, but she resisted
her urge. "I have drunk from Nick, numerous times, but it hasn't
helped with the nightmares."

LaCroix gave her an amused chuckle. "Maybe that is because Nicholas
believes that you should feel guilty, just as he does over
*everything* he's ever done. Trust me, you will find no trace of
guilt in my blood."

Natalie couldn't keep up her resistance any longer. She grabbed his
wrist tightly and eagerly sank her teeth into it. He had been right,
she could taste no guilt but an overwhelming gust for life. His blood
was familiar and it was the sweetest, most intoxicating taste she had
ever felt, second only to the taste of Nick's blood. When she had
drunk from him the night she had come across, she hadn't really
understood what she had read from his blood. Now she knew how to sort
the images, and it was simply overwhelming. There was so much more to
him than she suspected she could ever even begin to understand. And
then he removed his wrist.

Natalie let out a small whimper. She wanted more. His blood had made
her feel - safe and whole - somehow, and she wanted more.

LaCroix smiled at her obvious disappointment, but she had already
gotten more than enough. It was tiring to control what his blood
would reveal and he had to be careful not to let her drain him. The
new ones were always so eager they could do that quite by accident if
one wasn't careful.

***

LaCroix and Antonia left shortly afterwards, with a promise from
LaCroix to return the next night.

As much as Nick hated to admit it LaCroix's blood seemed to have made
a difference, Natalie did look better, more relaxed, now. The
drinking of blood could be a very sensual and intimate experience,
but he knew that Natalie's feeding tonight had been for one purpose
only, to help her get rid of her nightmares. His rational mind could
appreciate that fact but it still didn't help his irrational feelings
of jealousy one bit. He had felt Natalie as she had drank from
LaCroix. She had wanted more.

Nick shook his head a little to clear his thoughts, and finished off
his glass of bovine with a grimace. The taste seemed worse than ever
after he had tasted Natalie's sweet blood for the first time. The
memory of that brought a tender smile to his lips. While he could go
on and curse the night LaCroix had brought Natalie across, even he
couldn't deny that the situation did have it's advantages.

"That's a curious smile", Natalie remarked as she walked in to the
kitchen. "What were you thinking about?"

"Nothing." Nick shook his head still smiling. "Just.. reminiscing."

Natalie arched her brow but didn't press the matter. Instead, she
took his hand into hers and turned to leave. "Come to bed."

Nick was more than happy to comply, even if he did know that it was
truly just to sleep with her. She hadn't slept well for over a week
and she would need her rest. It didn't matter. Nick was contented
with just to be able to hold and to watch her. Besides, he happened
to think that she looked especially adorable in her sleep.

Tightening his hold around her waist a little he enjoyed the feel of
her cool body pressed so close to his. He loved her just the way she
was now, but he still missed the sound of her heartbeat - the way it
had skipped a beat when ever he had come by unexpectedly, the
pounding of her heart against his chest when they had kissed....

Yes, things had changed - they had lost certain things but they had
also gained a lot. They had finally been able to get married. Nick
felt a silly grin spread across his face at that happy thought. He
had felt so proud that night, and privileged, to be the one standing
next to the most beautiful woman in the world as the judge had
pronounced them husband and wife.

Slowly his grin faded as other thoughts came to him. They had decided
to put the search for a cure on hold for the time being. Natalie
needed time to really get accustomed to her new life, and to grow
stronger in the ways of the vampires. And while he still tried to
stick to the bovine, he too had needed to take 'time off' from the
search to be able to properly teach Natalie. He had searched for a
cure for so long that a little longer didn't really matter in the
grand scheme of things. Besides, time was on their side now.

Sighing lightly, Nick gently brushed his wife's temple with his lips
before he himself finally settled to sleep.

********

As promised, LaCroix returned the next evening.

"I trust you had a good day's sleep?" His voice was a bit more testy
than was necessary. He knew perfectly well that this time the reason
*he* hadn't gotten much sleep had nothing to do with Natalie.

When he and Antonia had returned to their hotel the previous night
they hadn't really talked very much and even though she hadn't made
him sleep on the couch he had gotten the distinct impression that as
far as she was concerned, he was in the dog-house.

"Never better", Nick answered, and sensing his mood flashed a
brilliant smile at his way. "Well, I'm off to the University to grade
some papers." He gave Natalie a quick peck on the cheek on his way to
the door and whispered: "Don't have too much fun tonight."

Natalie rolled her eyes at him. Yeah right, spending an evening with
LaCroix was probably going to be about as fun as having her new
canines pulled off. "Coward", she whispered back at him.

Nick just gave her a wide grin and then he was out of the door,
leaving her alone with LaCroix.


Slowly, she turned to face him. "So..." She didn't really know what
to say to him. She expected that he might want to talk some more
about her kill, but it was his turn to surprise her.

"Why don't we take a spin around the city", he said indicating the
roof.

Natalie was more than happy to oblige. Flying was one of the few
aspects of vampirism that Nick really enjoyed and they regularly
engaged themselves in dare competitions in the night sky.

LaCroix studied her flying with satisfaction. She obviously reveled
in this new ability of hers and her technical skills were more than
adequate. But there was more to being a vampire than just flying. He
let her get ahead of him and then did a quick disappearing act on
her.

It took a moment for Natalie to realize that LaCroix wasn't with her
anymore. She came to a sudden halt, and looked about herself but he
was nowhere to be seen.

"Great, now what..?" she muttered quietly to herself.

"Find me."

His voice seemed to come right behind her, but when she spun around
in mid-air there was no-one there. Then she heard his voice again,
urging for her to use her new abilities, and she realized that she
hadn't heard him with her ears but with her mind.

Smiling a little she concentrated. She had played this one with Nick
too and she had become quite good at it. Frowning, she tried to focus
on LaCroix. It wasn't quite as easy as it was with Nick. LaCroix felt
different in her mind, more slippery, and she was having trouble at
keeping her focus.

As she flew to what she hoped was towards him she realized why this
exercise felt so different now. Whenever she practiced with Nick he
was always reaching towards her with his mind. LaCroix on the other
hand let her do all the work. He wasn't trying to conceal himself
from her but he wasn't reaching for her either, he just - was.

It took her a bit longer than he had anticipated but she finally
found her way to him. LaCroix made a mental note to let Nicholas know
that they should practice this particular skill some more. These were
only the very basic skills but all the more necessary for a vampire's
survival.

He looked at Natalie and noticed the bright eyes which shone with the
excitement of having passed another one of his tests.

"That was very good, Natalie", he said letting his tone reveal his
approval. "I think you are now ready for something similar as the
last exercise." He turned to look at the city which lay below them
and asked casually: "Tell me, has Nicholas ever taken you.. hunting?"

***

Antonia had occupied her time with the exhibition and a tour around
the Met. When she returned back to the hotel later that evening she
was tired but in a much better mood. Being alone with her thoughts
that day had helped her put certain things into perspective.

In her mind she had known all along that there had been no reason for
her to be jealous over whatever had happened between LaCroix and
Natalie the previous night, but in her heart she hadn't been so
certain.

In the past she had asked LaCroix a few times if he minded that she
wasn't a vampire, and he had always denied any regrets. But she knew
that there were certain things that she was unable to do for him
because of what she was. Biting during sex was just one of those
things. He drank from her nearly every time they made love, and she
knew perfectly well that that was a big part of it for him. She had
come to enjoy it herself after a while, but she wasn't exactly able
to return the favor. Oh, she had tried it once or twice, but biting
until she would draw blood just wasn't her thing. He had told her
that he really didn't mind, but sometimes she just couldn't help but
wonder. Like last night...

But, that had been last night. Today she had finally been able to
convince herself of the fact that if he didn't really want to be with
her, then he wouldn't. It was as simple as that. *No-one* could make
LaCroix do something he didn't want to do, and the fact that they
*were* together should tell her all she needed to know. And that same
argument went with the marriage issue, as well. For what ever reason
he had simply decided not to get married, but that didn't mean that
he didn't love her. She knew that he did. And no paper, or lack there
of, would change that.

Giving a deep sigh Antonia smiled at having successfully settled the
matter in her mind. She couldn't wait to see LaCroix again and make
up, that was always the best part whenever they had an argument.

***

Natalie *hated* when he asked her questions he already knew the
answers to. "No, Nick's never taken me to hunt."

"This will be a new experience for you then", LaCroix said.

Natalie took a deep breath. "No."

LaCroix landed on a roof top of one of the city's many skyscrapers
and looked at her questioningly.

"I don't want to go hunting", Natalie repeated calmly, landing in
front of him. "I may be a vampire, thanks to you, but I'm still a
doctor - and I'm not going to kill anyone."

LaCroix studied her determined face. He let the faintest of smiles
touch his lips as he arched his brow, he even managed to sound almost
sympathetic when he reminded her: "Ah, but you already have. Or did a
day's sleep make you forget about it so quickly?"

Natalie hated this power he held over her through their link, and she
hated how he knew just what buttons to push to get the reaction he
wanted to. Stubbornly, she refused to give him the satisfaction of
having her to be the one to look away first. She swallowed a little
but kept her eyes straight at him. "No, I haven't forgotten. But that
was different."

"A kill is a kill, my dear Natalie", LaCroix said mildly amused. "How
was it different?"

"I didn't set out to kill him, it.. it just happened." Natalie knew
that her explanation was more than a little lacking but she refused
to back down. "I may have killed, but I'm not a murderer. There *is*
a difference, LaCroix."

LaCroix smiled at her in a fatherly fashion. "Who said anything about
a murder? A hunt doesn't always, necessarily, end in a kill. Just
because Nicholas doesn't know how to stop himself in time doesn't
mean that it can't be done", he smirked.

"Well, I don't want to go around sipping from people, either",
Natalie declared indignantly.

LaCroix smiled at her coldly. "Lying is such a nasty habit,
especially if one doesn't know how to get away with it."

"I wasn't lying..." Natalie began to object, only to be interrupted.

"Weren't you?" LaCroix had moved behind her and was now breathing
into her ear. "Weren't you, Natalie? Can't you remember your
excitement when your fangs pierced his neck? Do you remember how it
felt to have his blood flow into your mouth? How.. delicious his fear
tasted?"

Natalie felt her heart beat at least twice when she listened to him.
She *could* remember everything he was describing, and it filled her
with longing -- and excitement.

"Now, tell me again what you don't want, Natalie", LaCroix said
releasing her shoulders from his iron grip and moving to face her
again.

Natalie had closed her eyes and she was breathing heavily, trying to
control the sudden urges she found she had. She let out a short,
mirthless laugh. How much better she could understand Nick and his
struggles now that she herself was a vampire. She shook her head a
little in an effort to clear her thoughts, wishing that Nick was
there to calm her down and to reassure her of her former certainties.

Slowly she opened her eyes which now held a hint of gold in them and
forced herself to meet LaCroix's face. "Just because I may want
something doesn't mean that I have to act on all of my impulses." She
swallowed hard as she tried to buy that statement herself.

"You're right, you don't."

Natalie whirled around at the new voice which came from behind her.

"Nick!" She had been so focused on LaCroix that she hadn't sensed his
presence at all.

"Ah, Nicholas, I was wondering how long it would take for you to get
here." LaCroix smiled pleasantly and didn't seem at all surprised to
see Nick landing on the roof top.

Nick walked over to Natalie and gave her a reassuring smile. Then he
addressed LaCroix grimly: "You can't make her do anything she doesn't
want to do, LaCroix."

"She may be your wife, Nicholas, but she is still of my blood. You'd
do well not to lose a sight of that." There was a warning edge to
LaCroix's voice. Then he continued tauntingly: "Anyway, I believe the
real question is, can *you* stop her from doing what she really wants
to do?"

He gave them not so pleasant a smile and, after promising to return
again the next night, bid them good-bye for the coming day.

There was a long silence after LaCroix flew away, during which
Natalie tried to get her bearings again.

Finally Nick turned to her and cupping her cheek into his hand he
asked quietly: "You're okay?"

Natalie managed a shaky smile and nodded, the color of her eyes had
returned to their familiar blue again. "Yeah, I'm fine." She took a
deep breath and made a weak attempt for humor. "Well, that certainly
was an experience..."

Nick looked at her seriously. "You don't have to tell me that, Nat. I
know how he works", he said bitterly, becoming absorbed into his
memories for a moment. Then he shook them off and said determinedly:
"Don't worry, I'll have a little -- talk with him tomorrow."

"Nick, I'm not some little woman you have to protect", Natalie
protested. "I can take care of myself."

"I know you can --", Nick soothed her. "Under normal circumstances.
But this is LaCroix we're talking about, and like it or not, you're
still pretty new to this all. I, on the other hand, have had about
800 years worth of experience in dealing with him and his schemes."

Natalie didn't like it, but he was right. She was still new to this
and the thought of what she had almost been ready to do tonight made
her shiver inside. She felt sick, and ashamed, and she couldn't bear
to face Nick's gentle eyes any longer. She turned away from him and
closed her eyes.

"The worst part is that he was right." Her quiet voice trembled
somewhat at her confession. "If you hadn't arrived when you did,
I..."

"Nat --"

"Do you know what I hate the most about this all?" Natalie suddenly
burst out, turning to face him again. "It's the way he can mess with
my head. He knows exactly what to say and do to..." She shook her
head. "When I think of all those lectures I used to give you, it's a
wonder you never told me to go and stuff it."

"Nat." Nick took her by the shoulders and smiled at her tenderly.
"Those lectures of yours really helped me. They told me that you
believed in me. *And I believe in you.*" He paused to let his last
statement sink in. "Whatever happens, we'll face it together. And I
promise not to give up on you if you promise not to give up on me."

Natalie looked into his earnest blue eyes and smiled a little. Her
knight in shining armor. "You've got yourself a deal."

***

It was nearly dawn when LaCroix got back to the hotel. He found
Antonia sound asleep on the couch, and stopped for a moment to just
rest his eyes at the sight of her. She looked so peaceful in her
sleep. LaCroix gave a small sigh, he wanted everything to be well
between them again. For a second he contemplated on waking her up, so
that they could talk and clear up what ever it was that bothered her,
but he discarded the thought almost as soon as it had formed.
Instead, he picked up the magazine from her lap and turned off the
radio which had been tuned to a classical station. He then gingerly
picked her up into his arms, trying not to wake her, but he was
wasting his energy. As soon as he turned around to carry her to bed
he could feel her whisper his name against the side of his neck.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you", he said quietly, placing her
on to the bed. "Go back to sleep."

She smiled up at him sleepily, and outstretched her arms towards him.
"Only if you come with me."

He looked at her, and swallowed. She was all warm and inviting, her
lips slightly apart and her eyes half closed, and she was smiling at
him, waiting for him. He didn't need a second invitation.

Antonia sighed in satisfaction as he lowered his head to kiss her.
"Mmm, I've been waiting all day for that", she murmured when their
lips finally parted.

"If I had known that I would've come back a lot sooner", LaCroix
whispered in a low voice, sending her to giggle softly.

Then she got up on her knees, took his face between her palms and
kissed him gently. "I'm sorry about last night." She searched for his
eyes and couldn't help a small grin as she saw the gold in them. "I
love you --"

She didn't have a chance to finish her words when he claimed her lips
again and leisurely enjoyed his expedition in her mouth. They were
both breathing heavily afterwards but that didn't stop Antonia from
getting finally rid of his jacket. Tossing it to the floor she then
went after his shirt-buttons. Her fumbling fingers took their time in
getting the first one opened, but they weren't in a hurry - yet.

She placed a small kiss on his throat and opened the second button.
The skin exposed under that one got the same treatment, and she
continued so until she had only two more buttons left. By that time
LaCroix was through waiting and he ripped the shirt off, sending the
offending buttons flying across the room. Then he threw himself down
on his back and swept the grinning Antonia on top of himself. Letting
his hands roam free over her he feathered butterfly kisses over her
eyelids, her nose and her cheeks. Finally his hands came up and
burying them into her sweet smelling hair he bared his fangs and
growled: "Mine. All mine."

Looking down at him, Antonia gave him a dry smile. "Neanderthal."

"Actually, that was a little before my time, my dear", LaCroix
answered lightly, wholly without shame at his caveman tactics.

"Are you quite sure?" Antonia breathed, nibbling on his ear.

LaCroix's voice sounded a little strained. "Positive."

"Oh, okay then." Antonia was busy leaving wet trails on his neck
while trying to unfasten his belt at the same time.

As soon as she succeeded, he ripped his trousers off and sent them
flying after his shirt. Then he whirled himself around so that he
ended up on top of Antonia. Her warm body set him on fire and he
couldn't wait any longer to be consumed by it.

"Don't ever leave me", he whispered between frantic kisses.

"Never."

"I love you."

*********

The next evening LaCroix woke up in a much better mood and he and
Antonia left for their visit to the de Brabants' shortly after
sunset.

They hadn't been there for more than five minutes when Nick suggested
casually: "Why don't we go for a little spin, LaCroix."

"Nick..." Natalie tried one last time to get him to forget about his
plan. She was well aware of what LaCroix was capable of and frankly,
she was worried about her husband.

Nick gave her a reassuring smile. "It's all right, Nat." Then he
turned to LaCroix. "Well?"

LaCroix's eyes revealed his amusement at their exchange, but he only
said: "By all means, Nicholas."

Antonia didn't say anything until they had left. Then she turned to
look at Natalie. "What was that all about?"

Natalie seemed to take just a tad too long to contemplate on her
answer. Finally she simply shrugged her shoulders. "I'm sure it's
nothing important."

Antonia studied her poker face for a moment longer but decided then
to drop the matter, LaCroix could take care of himself. She just
hoped that he and Nick wouldn't start the third World War during
their 'little spin'. She followed Natalie to the living-room and sat
down at the other end of the couch. The silence which ensued felt a
little awkward when she suddenly realized that this was actually the
first chance she and Natalie had gotten to talk since the night that
she had been brought over.

She noticed the little changes in Natalie and decided that becoming a
vampire couldn't have been *all* bad. Natalie looked radiant and she
seemed to have developed a hint of that air which LaCroix and Janette
both had. Antonia wondered how much of it all was due to the change
and how much of it was because of Nick. But despite of all of her
musings Antonia wasn't about to lose sight of the fact that Natalie
had also lost a lot in exchange. She could only hope that Natalie had
found the balance at least tolerable.

"So, how have you been?" Antonia finally broke the silence.

"I'm.. adjusting. It's not like I've had much choice." Natalie gave
her a meaningful look.

This was harder than Antonia had thought. "I'm sorry", she said
meeting her eyes sincerely.

"Why? It wasn't your fault." Natalie's voice wasn't quite as light as
she had intended to.

Antonia furrowed her brow slightly as a thought came to her. "You
don't think that this was what Lucien intended to..." The look
Natalie gave her confirmed her suspicions. "So he never... Do you
know why he brought you over that night, Nat?"

Natalie gave a little shrug. "I think he mentioned something about
saving Nick's life in the middle of it all, but no, he never
elaborated the subject. Guess he didn't feel the need to explain
himself to me, after all, I *was* just a mortal, right?"

Antonia couldn't really blame her for being a little bitter. After
all, she hadn't asked to be brought across, the decision had been
made for her and now she would just have to live with it as best she
could. Antonia sighed inwardly at her own thoughts, sometimes life
really sucked.

Still, knowing what she knew she couldn't totally agree with Natalie.
"He's not really that bad, Nat", she said. For a second she thought
of telling Natalie the truth about that night, but then decided that
if LaCroix hadn't done it, it wasn't really her place to do so
either. "If I were you I'd ask him about his reasons, someday."

Natalie gave her a long look through narrowed eyes, but in the end
she only said: "Maybe I will - someday."

Silence fell between them again.

"Is it just me, or is this really awkward?" Natalie smiled a bit
crookedly.

"No, I don't think it's just you." Antonia returned her smile, and
for a moment it felt as if they were friends again.

Natalie seemed to reflect Antonia's mood, and there was a hint of
regret in her voice when she said: "It's been a while, and a lot of
things have changed."

"I know", Antonia replied quietly.

***

"Have we come far enough yet, Nicholas?" LaCroix inquired after they
had  flown for fifteen minutes in total silence.

"Yes, we have." Nick replied, and he wasn't referring to just their
flight.

LaCroix descended gracefully to a park just below them, and waited.
Nick wasn't far behind him, but once they had landed he seemed to be
a little unsure of just how to begin their talk.

"Well, Nicholas?" LaCroix's voice revealed just a hint of impatience
as he regarded his son.

That brought Nick back to focus and he fixed his stare on LaCroix.
"We had an agreement about Natalie, and I want you for once to stick
to your end of the bargain."

LaCroix shook his head a tad disappointed, Nicholas was nothing if
not predictable. Arching his brow he returned Nick's stare. "Your
selective memory never seizes to amaze me, Nicholas. I *allowed* you
to be the one to teach Natalie but I never agreed to abandon her."

"Then let me teach her and stop interfering our lives", Nick said
trying to control his agitation.

Trust the boy to be ungrateful for everything he ever did for him,
LaCroix thought narrowing his eyes as he took offence at Nick's
words. When he spoke his voice was deceptively soft. "Interfering?"
He didn't wait for Nick's response as he continued more harshly.
"Have you already forgotten the reason *why* I came, Nicholas?
Because *you* couldn't take care of her."

Nick took a deep breath to stop the angry words on his lips. When he
finally felt it was safe to talk his words came out with a forced
calm. "No, I haven't forgotten why you came, LaCroix, and we are
grateful for your help. But the situation has now been taken care of
and there is no need for you to..."

"Yes?" LaCroix was trying hard to keep a lid on his own temper.

"She doesn't want to kill. Why can't you just accept that?" Nick
finally got to the point.

LaCroix watched his son's obvious frustration and the familiar sight
had a calming effect on him. He almost smiled as he objected: "Ah,
but she does, Nicholas, she does. She's only trying to deny her true
nature because of you."

Nick shook his head in anger. "'Her true nature'. Don't you mean
*your* true nature, LaCroix? *She* is not a killer."

Nick's statement only earned him a hearty laugh from his master.
"Nicholas, you can deny it all you want but the blood on her hands
declares otherwise. She *is* one of us, now."

"Damn you, LaCroix." Nick's voice was dripping with bitterness.
"She's different, and I'm not going to let you destroy her like you
destroy everything you ever touch!"

He launched himself towards LaCroix's throat but found that he had
quite easily, and annoyingly, been evaded.

"Destroy her?" LaCroix mocked him. "I've only made her into what *we*
are."

"And we are.."

"Monsters?" LaCroix cut him off lightly. "Isn't that what you once
told me? Oh, I'm sure Natalie would appreciate your insight of her."

"Leave her out of this!"

"Really Nicholas, I wish you'd make up your mind. It was your idea to
come here to discuss about her, and..." LaCroix came to a sudden halt
and a look of alarm came into his eyes.

"Natalie", Nick breathed at the same time.

They glanced at each other briefly before taking to the air in a
silent, mutual understanding. They flew as quickly as they could,
each concentrating on their link to Natalie.

***

Their search took them to an abandoned warehouse. What they found
there made Nick's cold blood run even colder.

Natalie was being held by a tall, blond vampire who had a sharp stake
pressed just below her precious heart.

"Alexandra."

Nick's whisper was greeted by a cold smile. "Nicholas." Then she
shifted her eyes to see who was behind him. "LaCroix, I didn't expect
to see you here." She sounded surprised to see her master.

LaCroix simply nodded at her, keeping his expression neutral. He cast
his senses and searched the warehouse but there was no trace of
Antonia. Turning his attention back to the situation at hand he heard
Alexandra address Nick again.

"I have been waiting for this for a long time. I lost you the last
time we met, so this time I decided to take precautions against
that." She shoved the stake a little deeper into Natalie's side.

Nick held his breath as he searched for his wife's eyes. She was
scared but she met his gaze evenly, concentrating on their link to
let him know that she was all right. She looked a little paler than
usual and there was a large bruise on her cheek which had now almost
healed, but other than that she seemed unharmed, for the moment.

Nick took a step closer, and keeping his voice calm he spoke to
Alexandra. "It's me you want..."

"You got that right." Alexandra gave a short, bitter laugh.

"She has nothing to do with this", Nick continued as if he hadn't
been interrupted. "Why don't you let her go, and take me. I'm the one
you're after."

Alexandra smiled at him. She knew she had him. "Well now...", she
said as if she was truly contemplating his offer. "I don't think so,
Nicholas. You see, after all this time I think I deserve a little
extra. Killing you isn't quite enough, anymore." She glanced at
Natalie and flashed her teeth. "She's one of yours, so she will make
a nice addition to your debt, don't you agree, Nicholas?"

LaCroix had watched the little scene quietly. He was in the opinion
that a little sibling rivalry never hurt anyone, and it could be
quite entertaining, but now he spoke up. "Actually, she's one of
mine, Alexandra, so I guess that makes her your sister."

His voice had sounded jovial enough, but for the first time there was
a flash of uncertainty in Alexandra's eyes. She shifted her gaze
between LaCroix and Nick, but finally she came to a decision. "Well,
sister dear, I guess our first meeting will also be our last. Nothing
personal, but you seem to mean the world to our brother..."

She seemed to ready herself to plunge the stake into Natalie's heart.
Nick took another step towards them and silently vowed to get to them
before Alexandra could harm Natalie in any way. Both of them were
however stopped by LaCroix's casual voice.

"There's just one thing that needs to be cleared out before you do
anything hasty Alexandra, my dear. There was a woman in the apartment
with Natalie..."

Alexandra moved her attention to her master again. "Yes. I'm afraid
she saw me. But don't worry, I took care of it."

LaCroix shifted his gaze from her smiling face to his other daughter.
"Natalie?"

She met his blue eyes unflinching and couldn't help feeling a certain
amount of satisfaction as she answered to his silent question. "She
staked her to the living-room wall."

Alexandra wasn't sure of what had just happened but suddenly the
warehouse was filled with static as if a storm was about to break
out. She took another look at her master and felt a shiver run down
her spine at the sight of his cold, blue eyes.

LaCroix had hoped to avoid it but he was about to lose a daughter
that night. It was a pity really, she had provided him a certain
amount of amusement during the years, but then that had been the
reason he had made her in the first place. And now she had
unknowingly stepped over the line and thus her usefulness had come to
an end.

LaCroix sighed lightly. "Nicholas, she has been after you for
centuries. Will you do the honors, or shall I?"

Alexandra couldn't believe what she was hearing. Why had he turned
against her all of a sudden? Surely this little fledgling she had
threatened couldn't mean that much to LaCroix. He hadn't been too
interested in her after he had brought her over, even if he had made
certain that she was well provided for.

But her pondering came to a quick end as she prepared to defend
herself. She knew that LaCroix was the more dangerous one of the two
but she expected Nick to be the first one to take a go at her since
he was the one in love. Keeping her golden eyes on Nick she gave him
a cold, daunting smile. "She'll be gone before you ever get to me.
Remember, I'm still stronger than you are."

Nick didn't listen to her as he tried to figure out how to get
Natalie away from her. Besides, Alexandra's last statement probably
wasn't true anymore since he hadn't exactly been diligent in his
special diet of late, and he was older than her. But the trick was to
distract her for long enough for Natalie to make a clean getaway.

While Nick and Alexandra were seizing each other up LaCroix spoke up
again sounding rather disinterested in the whole matter. "On second
thought, I believe I should take care of this personally."

Before anyone else had a chance to move an inch he had grabbed
Natalie from Alexandra's hold and thrown her towards Nick who just
barely caught her. This took some time, during which Alexandra had
overcome her initial surprise at the turn in the events and was now
ready for him. She used her stake with skill which spoke of huge
amount of experience, but in the end it just wasn't enough. LaCroix
was after all much too old and powerful to be taken over by a mere
child, which she was compared to him.

LaCroix took Alexandra's stake and buried it deep in to her heart. He
looked at the body at his feet expressionless for a few moments
before turning his attention to Nick and Natalie. "I believe that was
excitement enough for one evening."

He took Alexandra's body to the roof of the warehouse and left it
there for the sun. It was a quiet trio which returned back to the
apartment.


The place was in shambles.

Natalie and Antonia must've put up quite a fight, LaCroix mused as he
inspected the wreckage. However, his musings came to a sudden end
when he reached the living-room. He couldn't tear his eyes off from
the horrible sight which greeted him. He stood at the doorway for a
longest time, unable to move, paralyzed to his feet. He didn't
register the presence of his two children as they reached him, and he
didn't hear them as they spoke to him. All he was aware of was
Antonia as she hang on the wall from the stake which Alexandra had
plunged through her heart.

Slowly, LaCroix forced his feet to move closer. He lifted his hand to
touch Antonia's hair, ever so gently, and breathed her name so
quietly only he himself could hear it. Closing his eyes he shuddered
and let out a shivering breath. He remembered how many times in the
past he had wished that she was truly one of them, a vampire. Now he
thanked the Fates that his wish had been an impossible one. Had she
been a vampire there wouldn't be any miraculous resurrections for her
now, she'd be lost for him - forever.

Opening his eyes LaCroix touched her cold cheek. Her gray eyes were
open and she stared at him blindly with a look of surprise on her
face.

It must've happened so quickly she never knew what hit her, LaCroix
thought quietly. Then, bracing himself he got ready for the task
ahead. He took a firm grip of the stake and using much of his
considerable strength, pulled it out. Taking her limp body he moved
to the bedroom and lay her on the huge double-bed - and waited.

When her chest finally rose for the first time again he let out a
sigh of relief. To know that she couldn't be killed by a stake
through the heart was one thing, to witness her return back to life
was - a miracle.

Antonia opened her eyes slowly. The first thing she was aware of was
LaCroix's voice and his gentle touch on her cheek.

"Everything is all right, my dear."

Smiling she reached for him, but then the memories came rushing back.
She bolted up in to a sitting position and reach for LaCroix,
worried. "Nat... Lucien, you must find her, she's in danger. She.."

"..is right here", Natalie's calm voice came from the doorway.

Antonia turned to face her, and gave a sigh of relief. "What
happened?" she asked then.

LaCroix gave her a quick recap of what she had missed.

"Sounds like you all had a busy night", she said a bit overwhelmed at
what she had just heard. Then she turned her eyes to Natalie again.
"Nat.. I want to thank you for what you did tonight." Seeing
Natalie's questioning look, she elaborated. "You know, for coming
between me and that crazed blond. I guess I wasn't of much help to
you, though."

Natalie gave her a small smile. "Hey, I wasn't too hot myself
tonight. I had to wait for the cavalry to rescue me, too."

"Well, Alexandra was much older than you", Nick reminded her. "There
wasn't really that much either of you could've done."

There was a short silence which Antonia ended. "Well, I don't know
about the rest of you but I really need to get back to the hotel and
shower this blood off of me."

LaCroix helped her to get up from the bed, and agreed that it was
time for them to make their leave. At the door he turned to Nick with
a glint in his eyes. "Antonia and I will be returning back to Toronto
tomorrow. I trust you have no objections if we finish that other
thing later? This way you'll have a while to come up with more
convincing arguments on the subject."

Nick didn't bother to answer him but simply wished them a good flight
back.


As they waited for their taxi Antonia inspected LaCroix's face. "I'm
sorry, Lucien", she said touching his sleeve.

"Why?" He seemed genuinely puzzled.

"About your daughter, Alexandra."

Shaking his head a little LaCroix gave her a tired smile and patted
her hand reassuringly. "I made her on a whim, and now it was a whim
of her own that got her killed. She should have recognized family
when she saw it."

*************************

Toronto, two weeks later


The heat wave which had struck Toronto a week earlier showed no signs
of passing. Antonia was supposed to be working but her brains seemed
to refuse to cooperate that evening, so she had decided to try and do
something else for a while in hopes that she'd then get better
results in her current project. That's why she was now on all fours
at the backyard, trying to do some gardening. Her mother had always
sworn by it, saying that there was nothing more relaxing than getting
a little dirt underneath one's fingernails and bonding with mother
earth every once in a while.

Unfortunately Antonia wasn't really blessed with a green-thumb, and
she couldn't say if she was doing more harm than good with her
efforts. She hadn't touched anything with flowers as she weeded out
the unwanted plants, but despite that she suspected that she had
managed to take care of more than just the weeds.

Sighing with satisfaction she immersed her bare hands into the cool
soil again; it felt heavenly. She had tried to wear gloves but had
discarded them after only a few minutes. She had felt sweaty enough
as it was and hadn't wanted to wear anything that wasn't absolutely
necessary.

Closing her eyes, she breathed in deeply and enjoyed the feel of the
cool grass beneath her bare legs. A faintest breeze blew the warm
night air across her face as she slowly opened her eyes. Maybe mom
had been right after all, she thought to herself, smiling a little.
She did feel more relaxed now. Swiping her sweaty face with her
forearm she looked at the flower benches she had worked through
during the last forty-five minutes, and decided that she had done
enough damage for one evening.

"Now all I need is a cold drink and a cold shower, in that order",
she decided getting up and stretching her stiffened limbs before
heading back inside.

She went to the kitchen and got herself a glass of ice cold water.
Swallowing the liquid eagerly she sighed in satisfaction; nothing had
ever tasted better. Then she continued her way towards the
living-room and called out: "Honey, I'll just go..."

Antonia stopped in mid-sentence as four pairs of eyes turned to stare
at her. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize we had company", she said
blushing with embarrassment.

She was sweaty and dirty and hardly presentable. Her hair was swiped
up into a ponytail but more than a few tendrils had escaped and were
now stuck to her less than clean face. And her chosen wardrobe wasn't
any better. She had picked her clothes with comfort in mind, and
stuck to items she didn't mind getting dirty. That's why she was now
caught with wearing faded cut-off jeans and an old neon pink top, the
one she'd had since she was seventeen which was why it was also a
size or two too small for her now.

"My dear, you remember detective Vetter?" LaCroix cut the awkward
silence.

"Yes, of course." Antonia nodded shortly at the blond woman.
"Detective." She feigned a smile as she tried hard to forget that her
knees were all green from the grass. However, she couldn't help but
feel quite self-conscious, especially when she noticed how cool and
comfortable Janette looked like in her ever impeccable outfit.

"Darn vampires", Antonia thought jealously, what she wouldn't give to
be one now.

"And this is Detective Escobar", LaCroix continued nodding towards
the man standing a few steps behind Tracy. He was an inch or two
shorter than his partner and he had thick, dark brown hair. The gray
suit he was wearing didn't really fit as it should have, but it
wasn't hard to see that the bulkiness wasn't because of fat but was
pure muscle.

"Detective", Antonia greeted. "Has something happened?"

"Apparently, a dead body has been found at the Raven", LaCroix
answered her calmly. "A decapitated body, to be precise."

The news caught Antonia totally by surprise, but she soon collected
herself. "Well, I'm afraid I'm not sure how we can be of help,
detectives, since we've been home all evening", she said feeling just
a tad defensive.

"Mr. LaCroix is the owner of the Raven so there are a few questions
we have to ask", Escobar said in a way of explanation.

Tracy took that as her cue. "Who has access to your club Mr.
LaCroix?"

"No-one", LaCroix answered evenly.

"What about your employees?" Escobar asked.

"I said, no-one", LaCroix repeated, turning his piercing eyes at him.

The two detectives shared a quick glance and then Tracy pulled a
plastic bag from her pocket. Inside of it there was a large cameo
which looked quite old.

"This was found in a box with the head", she said handing the bag to
LaCroix. "Have you ever seen it before?"

LaCroix inspected the pendant carefully for a moment before handing
it back to her. "No, I'm afraid I haven't."

Antonia had been looking at him when he first saw the cameo, and even
though his expression hadn't changed she could've sworn that he was
lying. She glanced at Janette to see her reaction but her calm face
revealed nothing.

"What about you Miss DuCharme? Miss Jones?" Tracy turned her
attention to them. "Does either of you recognize this?"

"No, I don't think so", Janette answered, and Antonia silently shook
her head.

Tracy addressed her question to LaCroix again. "Do you know anyone
who would do something like this?"

"Someone who might have a grudge against you?" Escobar added.

"Isn't it *your* job to find a suspect, *detectives*?" LaCroix asked
caustically. Then he got up from his chair, clearly indicating that
the interview was over. "If that was all, detectives...? I do have a
club to open."

Tracy nodded and slipped the plastic bag back to her jacket pocket.
Escobar followed her to the door. "We'll be in touch."

Antonia followed LaCroix to the hall and found him standing there,
deep in his thoughts.

"Lucien?" She said nearly startling him. "What was that all about?"

LaCroix turned to see her, but it was clear that his mind was still
elsewhere. "I'm sorry my dear, I really must go or I'll be late."

He gave her a quick peck on the cheek and left in a hurry. Antonia
frowned. He knew who that pendant belonged to, or at least he had a
fair idea about it, of that she was certain. Then she sighed lightly
and tried to drop the thing off her mind, he would tell her if it was
important.

"I'm afraid I must also leave or I will miss my appointment." Janette
emerged to the hall from the living-room.

"Janette, you wouldn't happen to know who they found at the Raven,
would you?" Antonia asked slowly.

Janette stopped and looked at her calmly. "No, I wouldn't."

"What about that cameo?" When Janette shook her head slightly Antonia
nodded thoughtfully. "It's just that I think Lucien knows whose it
is", she said after a short silence.

Janette looked at her amused. "He probably does know."

Antonia didn't really know what she had hoped to accomplish but she
was obviously getting nowhere. Shrugging a little she then changed
the subject.

"Listen, if your appointment won't take too long and if I manage to
get some work done first, how about if we went to the Sanctum club
later tonight. There's this one band I think you'd be interested in
seeing. I'm not sure if they're on tonight but it wouldn't hurt to
try. What do you think?"

"Why not", Janette agreed. "I'll stop by at the Raven after my
appointment but that shouldn't take too long."

"Great!" Antonia smiled pleased. "Good luck with the jeweler."

Janette had already opened the front door but hearing Antonia, she
turned back to look at her. "Luck is not a factor", she said with a
wicked smile.

Antonia grinned back and watched her leave. She stood there in the
hall for a moment. The house seemed very quiet suddenly. Sighing, she
finally headed upstairs for her much needed shower.

********

LaCroix looked around at the Raven as he headed to the back room.
There were no signs that anything had been amiss earlier that
evening, no signs of a forced entry.

He opened the door to the back room and frowned at the sight of an
unexpected guest.

"I'm sorry", Urs stammered, glancing up at him. "I was just trying to
call Vachon", she explained putting down the receiver.

"Is there something wrong with the phone at the bar?" LaCroix
inquired slightly annoyed. He really wasn't in the mood for company.

Urs shook her head. "No. I just... I was sleeping downstairs and I
had a terrible nightmare. When I woke up I... there was someone
there."

LaCroix regarded her carefully. Someone, or something, had really
scared her. "Who was it?"

"I don't know", Urs said. "I couldn't see anyone, but I felt a
presence. Someone was down there. When I came up I could feel the
presence at the bar as well, so I came in here."

LaCroix looked at her for a moment and then turned to his private
wine cabinet. "Yes, well that is all very interesting I am sure, but
I do have a club to open."

Urs could see that he didn't believe her. She wanted to explain it
again, to convince him, but she could clearly see that as far as
LaCroix was concerned the conversation was over. Swallowing her words
she took her coat from the couch and silently left the room.

She stepped out into the night and shivered slightly. Wrapping her
coat tighter around herself she thought that she really shouldn't
feel cold, she was a vampire. Someone must've just walked across my
grave, she thought as she felt the cold again. She cast her senses to
her surroundings but felt nothing out of the ordinary.

She never noticed the dark shadow which followed her as she walked
down the street.

***

As soon as Urs left LaCroix dropped all pretense of doing anything.
His mind was again occupied with the cameo. How had someone managed
to obtain it, and more importantly - who? He knew who it had belonged
to a long time ago, but she couldn't possibly be the one it belonged
to now. Or could she?

***

Urs stopped as she saw a child sitting in the middle of an alley,
crying. She approached the child carefully, not wanting to scare her.

"Are you all right?" she asked softly, glancing around to see if
there was anyone else there. When the child didn't answer but just
kept on sobbing, Urs kneeled beside her, touching her arm gently.
"Are you lost? You know, you really shouldn't be out this late, it
can be dangerous out here."

The child lifted her head and smiled evilly. "Yes, I know." Then she
moved quicker than the eye could see and scratched Urs' face so
forcefully that she fell on her back to the ground.

It didn't take a genius to understand that the child was a vampire,
but Urs couldn't understand why she hadn't sensed her and recognized
her as one before. But there was no time to ponder any of that. Urs
was fully vamped out and she tried to fight back but the 'child' was
more powerful than any vampire she had ever met. She felt her
fingernails dig deep into her cheek again and then an excruciating
pain as she was being drained. It seemed to go on forever, but
finally she could feel the grip on her loosen and she was mercifully
dropped to the ground.

*******

"What's up?" Vachon turned to Tracy as she walked towards him. She
had called earlier that night, asking him to meet her as soon as
possible.

"What else, a murder", Tracy sighed tiredly. It had been a long night
and there was no end in sight. "What do you know about that guy who
owns the Raven, LaCroix?"

Vachon stared at her blankly for a moment, and blinked. This wasn't
the question he had been expecting. "Not much. Why?"

Tracy shook her head. "We just found a headless corpse at that club
of his. He says that he's the only one who has access to the place
but I've got a feeling that he's lying."

A corpse at the Raven. Had someone been more than just a little
careless? In his mind Vachon rolled his eyes. LaCroix and a police
investigation at the Raven equaled trouble, for everyone.

"Well, is he a suspect?" he asked then.

"Nah, he's got two witnesses who swear he was home all evening",
Tracy said. "I just can't get over this feeling that he knows more
than he's letting on. And do you know what's the really weird part in
all of this? We just learned that the corps we found is an Egyptian
national who was last seen in the Valley of the Kings robbing some
ancient tomb. How's that for a twist?"

Tracy shook her head frustrated. All she had was a lot of questions
and not too many answers. She turned to look at Vachon who seemed to
have zoned out. "Vachon?"

It took a while for her voice to penetrate through to Vachon's
conscious mind. "Sorry." He finally snapped out of his daze. "Well I
haven't been to Egypt for at least a century, but I'll keep my eyes
and ears open."

"Thanks Vachon."

*******

"Urs?"

Vachon closed the door behind himself, and walked into the
living-room of Urs' small house. The room mirrored her well. It was
decorated with soft, light colors and it was filled with beautiful
things she had collected during the years. She liked beautiful
things, and she had a good taste.

But he wasn't there to admire her décor. Earlier that evening he had
for the briefest moment felt fear and pain through their link, and
then - nothing. He knew that she was still alive but their connection
had never been this... still, and he was worried.

"Urs?" he called out again. "I know you're in here."

He heard a small whimper from the bedroom and walked over there. He
couldn't help a surprised gasp as he saw her. She was sprawled on the
floor, as if her strength had failed her at the last second just as
she'd been about to reach her bed.

"Urs!" Vachon's voice was urgent and scared as he dashed to her side.
He gently gathered her into his arms and held up her head as he
inspected her scratched face and the bite marks on her neck.

"Urs? Who did this to you?" he nearly snarled as his wild eyes
searched for other injuries.

"Vachon, help me." Urs' voice was barely a whisper. "Help me."

"Who did this to you?" Vachon's fingers touched the scratches and he
wondered why they hadn't began to heal yet.

"The Raven... I can't take this... a child... the pain..."

Vachon couldn't understand what she was saying. She was crying and
her eyes traveled around the room, never really focusing on anything.
And he could feel her pain - terrible, burning sensation running
through her veins. And pleasure, so excruciating that it only added
to the pain.

"Help me." Urs' hands clutched to his leather jacket nearly ripping
the seams out.

"I'll help you", Vachon promised even though he didn't have the
faintest idea how. "It's gonna be all right. It's gonna be all
right", he whispered into her hair, cradling her trembling body.

"No." She shook her head, crying. "I'm dying, and you'll have to help
me."

Vachon knew that she was right. She wasn't healing and he could feel
the pain getting worse with each moment, but he wasn't ready to
accept the truth yet.

"I can't take this pain anymore." With great effort Urs managed to
focus her vision. Holding his eyes with her gaze, she begged:
"Please, Javier. Help me."

Vachon closed his eyes tightly and growled deep in his throat. She
was asking him to do the one thing he hadn't been able to do all
those years ago. But now he would have to. There was no other choice.
She was dying, and each second he waited only added to her pain.

Slowly he opened his eyes and kissed her softly on the lips. "I'll
take care of it. It'll be all right, querida. I promise." His voice
was but a rough whisper and he wasn't sure if she had heard him or
not, but it didn't really matter.

He eased her back on the floor and went to the living-room where he
broke one of her chairs to use its leg as a makeshift stake. With his
heart heavy he returned to the bedroom. He knelt beside her still
form and nearly changed his mind when he saw her looking at him with
golden eyes. Then she managed a ghost of a smile through her pain and
he knew that she welcomed what he was about to do - what she had
expected him to do that fateful night he had brought her across.

Quickly, so he wouldn't have time to change his mind Vachon buried
the stake deep into her heart. His vision was blurred with blood
tears, and for a second he was worried that his aim had been off.
Then his ears were filled with her scream and he knew that he had
done well. It would be over soon.

"Javier..." Her whisper died before it had really began, and what
ever she had meant to say would forever remain unsaid.

***

Vachon buried Urs behind his church. It wasn't holy ground exactly
but it was close enough and he thought that she would have approved.
He looked at the unmarked grave and for a short while allowed himself
to be absorbed into memories of her. Then he pushed the memories
away. There was something he had to do. The memories and the grief
could wait.

What had happened to her? Her injuries hadn't been that bad, she
should have healed. Vachon shook his head. None of it made any sense.
Her attacker had been a vampire, that much he knew. And the rest...
he'd find out.

He took to the air, and tried to figure out where to begin. Urs had
mentioned the Raven, but she hadn't been exactly coherent so he
wasn't sure if she'd actually meant the club. Then he remembered the
case Tracy was working on, and furrowed his brow. Could these two
things be connected, somehow? LaCroix might know but Vachon wasn't
really too eager to confront him. And maybe he wouldn't have to.
There was someone else who might know what ever LaCroix knew....

********

Antonia was taking a break from work and she had turned on the radio
to listen to the Nightcrawler. The theme for the night was children,
but Antonia thought that LaCroix sounded somehow even more morbid
than usual. That body found at the Raven must've really gotten him
worried, she thought sipping at her tea.

Staring off into the distance she contemplated that whole incident.
Who would've done something like that and why? And why had the body
been decapitated? Deep in her thoughts Antonia tapped her finger to
the cup. Severed heads would indicate an Immortal but that didn't fit
with the fact that the rest of the body had been nearly ripped to
pieces. Or, what if the body had been one of the Raven's dwellers?
Decapitation worked on vampires as well. That could well explain why
Lucien was so --

The ring of the doorbell interrupted Antonia's thoughts. She set down
her cup and went to answer the door. Before opening the door she
quickly peeked through the peep-hole to see who it was, and was
surprised to see Vachon waiting on the other side.

"Vachon, what a surprise", she greeted opening the door. When he just
stood there looking like a little lost boy she gestured for him to
step in. "Please, come in. Can I get you anything?"

When Vachon shook his head in response, she led him to the
living-room and continued: "I'm afraid Lucien isn't at home right --"

"That's all right", Vachon interrupted her. "I came to see you."

If he had meant to surprise her, he had succeeded. "Oh, is this about
the bike thing? Cause I thought we were supposed to meet at the
Sanctum next week", Antonia said, afraid that she had gotten her
dates mixed up somehow.

"No, that's not it." Vachon looked as if he didn't know where to
start. Finally he simply blurted out: "Urs is dead."

Antonia stared at him in shock. It took a few moments for what he had
just said to actually register with her.

"Vachon, I'm so sorry", she finally breathed. It was no wonder that
he looked the way he did - tired and a little disheveled. "What
happened?"

Vachon made small gesture with his hand as if to brush away her
sympathy and her questions. "I need your help."

Antonia didn't quite understand how he thought that she'd be able to
help him but she was willing to try. "What can I do?"

"What do you know about the body that was found at the Raven?"

"Only what I heard from the police", Antonia said wondering what that
had to do with Urs' death. "What, do you think there's a connection?"

Vachon sighed and gave a small shrug. "Urs said something about the
Raven. Right now anything's possible, I guess."

"Well, I'll see what I can find out", Antonia promised. "If you give
me your number, I'll call you as soon I've talked with Lucien...."

Her voice trailed off when the voices from the radio caught her
attention.


"Hello Lucius, it's been a very *long* time."

"Shouldn't all good little girls be in bed by this time?"

"But I'm not that kind of girl, you know that. -- But do you know
what it's like to be betrayed by your own child? To be left alone in
the darkness? -- I didn't think so. But you will soon enough as your
friends die and the fear of death drives those still alive away from
you. Then you'll understand how it feels to be betrayed - and alone."


Antonia hadn't realized that she had held her breath while listening
to that strange conversation. When she heard the caller's connection
click off she drew a sharp breath and felt a cold shiver run down her
spine. She had no idea what that had been all about, but suddenly she
was afraid. She looked up and met with Vachon's brown eyes.

"Who was that?" he asked, knowing that he had just listened to Urs'
killer.

Antonia swallowed, and shook her head slowly. "I don't know."

*******

Janette entered the Raven and walked over to the bar. She didn't
recognize the mortal bartender, but when she ordered a house-special
she did get the correct drink. She took her glass and joined LaCroix
at the other end of the counter.

"You had an interesting caller on your show tonight, and very
effective one at that it seems", she said giving a meaningful look at
the half-empty dance floor. It was an unusually slow night at the
Raven.

"Yes. They're afraid, as they should be", LaCroix acknowledged. "She
will kill all of you - because of me."

Janette took a sip from her drink and gave LaCroix a questioning
look. "Who is she?"

At first it looked as if he wasn't going to answer but then he gave a
short, mirthless laugh. "She is my daughter - and my master."

Janette could've been knock over by a feather. What ever she had
imagined the answer to be, this had never entered her thoughts. She
sipped from her drink again to gain some time to compose herself.

LaCroix watched her expressionless face but that didn't fool him, he
could feel her inner turmoil through their link. For a second he
contemplated on not telling her the whole story, but then decided
against that. Maybe it was time to let someone finally know about
Divia. At least this way his children would know what they were up
against, and maybe they would choose wisely and stay out of her way.
So, he went on and told her about the day when Mount Vesuvius had
erupted, covering all of Pompeii, and how in the middle of all that
death life had found a way.

Janette was fascinated by his story. Who would've guessed that his
own daughter had been the one to bring him across. But something
didn't still add up. She shifted her blue eyes back to him. "That
still doesn't explain why she's out to destroy you now, after all
this time."

"Because of something I did - and something I didn't do."

Janette said nothing but silently waited for him to explain. Sighing
tiredly, LaCroix thought back at that night. He turned to lean his
elbows against the bar so he didn't have to look at anyone when he
told this part of his story.

"Divia was a beautiful, bright child but when she was brought across
by the ancient one the evil she had inherited from me was magnified a
thousand fold. She recognized no boundaries, no rules... *Nothing*
was beyond her. And she wanted me to -- 'love' her.. more than I
could. I destroyed her in the same place where she had destroyed her
own master before."

It took a moment for Janette to realize what he meant. When it dawned
on her she was astonished. All these years she had believed that she
had known him. He hadn't unsolved all of his puzzles but she thought
she understood him a little better now.

She cut off her thoughts when she heard LaCroix say with mild
amusement: "Now that I think of it, it must run in the family.
Nicholas has certainly proved that much, even if he did take his time
to gather the courage to try and destroy me."

LaCroix was silent for a moment and when he continued his voice was
void of all amusement. "I buried Divia into that very tomb under the
seal of Ra-Atun, the Egyptian sun god, to make certain that she would
stay there." He paused for a moment and sighed. "Someone must've
broken the seal."

They were silent for a while, both buried in their own thoughts. Then
Janette asked: "How could she have survived all those years?"

LaCroix turned look at her. "I don't know. In the end, does it really
matter?"

Janette regarded her master silently. She had never seen him look
so.. vulnerable before. He seemed almost beaten, as if he had already
submitted to his fate. Janette didn't know what she should say or do,
but she knew that she would do anything to help him. He was her
master, and even if she didn't always appreciate that fact, she did
love him.

She touched his arm and promised: "We will find a way to stop her."

LaCroix gave a small smile; she had always been the loyal one. He
just wasn't sure if he could bring himself to destroy Divia for the
second time. But he nodded as if in agreement, and said: "You better
go and see that Antonia is safe. Take care of her, if..."

"It will not come to that", Janette assured with conviction,
interrupting him before he had a chance to finish his sentence.

********

Antonia hurried to the hall as soon as she heard the front door open.

"Lucie..." She stopped in mid-word when she saw Janette. "Sorry, I
hoped it was Lucien."

"Is something wrong?" Janette asked seeing her anxious face, and
scanned the house with her vampiric senses but found nothing out of
the ordinary.

"Yeah, you could say that", Antonia answered and walked back to the
living-room with Janette in tow.

"What is it?" Janette asked walking over to face her.

Antonia told her about Urs. Then she told her about Vachon's visit
and how they thought that Urs' death and the body found at the Raven
and the young girl who had phoned in to the Nightcrawler show were
all somehow connected to one another.

"You're right, they are connected", Janette said calmly when Antonia
finally finished her story.

"So, you mean that that little girl really is involved?"

"That 'little girl' is LaCroix's master", Janette said carefully,
arching her brow. Her eyes shifted to look at something behind
Antonia. "Divia."

"He told you about me?"

Antonia whirled around when she heard the pleased voice behind her,
and was faced with a smiling, blond young girl.

"And what have we got here?" Divia turned her attention from Janette
to Antonia and snorted: "A mortal?"

Janette studied the harmless looking child in front of them,
reminding herself not to be fooled by the innocent appearance. She
knew better, and she kept herself ready for anything.

"A 'friend' of yours?" Divia had turned her attention back to
Janette. Then, seeing a photograph of LaCroix and Antonia on one of
the shelves she continued: "Or my father's? So, he has truly become
as weak as those we prey upon."

Antonia was startled at Divia's words. What did she mean by 'her
father'? Wasn't she supposed to be LaCroix's master?

"And you, 'sister dear'..." Divia's voice was cold as ice. "You're
not wanted anymore. He *never* wanted you. He already has a daughter.
Did you really think you could take *my* place?!" she snarled,
working up her rage. Revealing her teeth she attacked Janette,
sending her flying across the room. Not waiting to see where she
landed Divia turned her attention to Antonia.

"You're dinner", Divia laughed and hurled her against a wall. Antonia
was out like a candle and didn't see Janette launch herself against
Divia. She was fast and powerful, but Divia was even more so.

The fight didn't last long. Withdrawing her fangs from Janette's neck
Divia stepped back to look at her handiwork - and smiled.

*******

The Raven had been closed for the coming day but LaCroix was still
sitting at the bar, nursing a drink in front of him - waiting. He
didn't have to wait for long.

Not turning his head to look at her he asked, as if he didn't already
know. "Why are you here, Divia?"

Instead of an answer he heard her familiar voice mock him. "Of all
the the centuries I've had to think of you or what you might be
doing, I never imagined you would rise to the 'lofty' position of an
inn keeper."

"Did you come to gloat?" he asked, keeping his tone even.

"Why not? I've won", Divia laughed. "You're alone. Now perhaps you
can begin to feel what it was like for me. You cannot imagine the
hatred I have for you."

***

"You should have stayed dead", LaCroix growled. Divia had reveled in
proving her strength over him and had now his face pinned against
broken glass.

"You're in pain", Divia said as if she was observing some scientific
experiment. "How I've wished to see that."

"Now your wish has come true", LaCroix breathed. "And all that
remains is for you to kill me." He almost welcomed the idea. He knew
that despite all that Divia had done to him he could not bear to kill
her again. She was his child, his true child.

"And deny you the pain and loneliness?" Divia mocked him. "No", she
said, finally releasing her hold on him. "You must exist forever,
with the knowledge that you've destroyed *everyone* who is dear to
you."

If LaCroix's heart hadn't been as slow as it was it would have
stopped at her words. "What do you mean?"

"Your friends, lover - and daughter. All of them - gone."

LaCroix stared at the back of her small figure and he could feel his
rage finally emerge. She had crossed the line again. All his thoughts
of letting her have her revenge were wiped out. He raised his hand
against her, only to find himself to be the one ending on the floor
on his knees.

"That *fake* you called your daughter is dead! And so is your walking
dinner", Divia seethed into his ear. "How could you try to replace
me? *I'm* your daughter, your *only* daughter."


Divia took him by the front of his jacket and hurled him again
through the air. He landed crashing on the tables, breaking several
of them underneath him. Before he managed to get up Divia was next to
him, trying to make nice again.

"You don't need them, father, you have me. Tell me that you love me."

LaCroix looked into her eyes, and saw himself. How many times had he
played this scene with mortal men resembling his father. How many
times had he said those very words, demanding his 'father' to tell
him that he loved him? The irony of the situation was not lost on
him, but looking into his daughter's eyes he knew that just like he
himself had never heard the words neither would she.

"You are a sick, deprived little girl", LaCroix growled, ignoring the
now gentle hand on his cheek.

The gentle streak was over as quickly as it had began. Divia buried
her fingernails into LaCroix's throat and gloated. "Poor father, does
it hurt?"

"If you kill me my suffering will be over", LaCroix said trying to
manipulate Divia into releasing her hold.

"You know, I'm not sure if that's true. Damnation, when I come to
think of it, is a fitting sentence for your crime", Divia smiled
pushing him away from her.

Then, out of nowhere, she fished out the very blade he had used to
destroy her all those years ago. "Recognize this, father?"

LaCroix knew it was all over, he had nothing to lose anymore. "When
we were mortal I loved you more than the gods. But now -- how could
anyone love something as grotesque as you?"

Divia was enraged. He was *her* creation. How dared he?! She raved in
her mind and lifted the blade above her head, ready to bring it down.

LaCroix waited for the final blow, but it never came. As Divia
prepared to use her blade she was staked through the heart by someone
behind her. LaCroix ripped his eyes off of his impaled daughter to
see who had saved him.

It would have been an understatement to say that he was surprised at
the sight of Janette. He hadn't felt her at all, but then, he had
been preoccupied with Divia. But before he could continue his
thoughts he heard Divia's scared voice. Just as he shifted his eyes
back to her he could see Antonia swinging her sword.

"No." The whisper came automatically. He tried to step forward but
Janette put a restraining hand against his chest, stopping him. And
it was too late already. Antonia's sword was already in motion and
the force and the speed of it didn't allow for it to be halted before
its task had been achieved.

********

Antonia watched as LaCroix placed Divia's sheet wrapped body on top
of one of the cars in the junkyard. He hadn't talked much on their
way there. Not that she had really expected him to after what had
just happened. But she couldn't help hearing his whisper in her mind.

"No."

She closed her eyes for a moment and tried not to think about it. But
it was to no avail. After everything Divia had done, he had still
wanted her to live. Maybe it was something only a vampire master and
her child could understand. She swallowed a little, and wondered if
he blamed her and Janette for killing her anyway.

"I can only imagine that the reason you survived is that you were of
her own blood", LaCroix was just saying to Janette.

Janette nodded in agreement. She didn't really care about the 'why'
of it, but only the fact that in the end Divia had failed. Well, not
completely...

"Urs was not so lucky", she said quietly.

LaCroix sighed. "Yes, and perhaps she was too young as well."

They all stood in silence for a moment. Then LaCroix turned to look
at Divia's body and said: "You two better leave now. I will stay here
with Divia until her body is turned into ashes, and then commit them
in to the wind. I may even say a prayer."

Janette touched his arm silently, gently, in an effort to ease his
pain. Then she followed Antonia who was already slowly walking away.

Antonia turned around when she heard the flames behind her. Her heart
cried at the sight of LaCroix as he stood watching his master burn to
ashes. How could he not blame her for what she had done?

She watched him for what seemed like a long time, but he never took
his eyes off the burning figure. Taking a shivering breath Antonia
finally turned around and joined Janette who had been waiting for her
at a short distance.



The End


*****************************************************************
The LaCroix/Antonia series so far: 

1.  Revenge Is Sweet?
2.  One Big, Happy Family?
3.  Watch Her Not
4.  Old Friends, New Friends
5.  Without You
6.  Time To Move On
7.  The Collector
8.  Dream On
9.  Out Of The Darkness
10. Children - The Little Bundles Of Joy

11. What Future?

All these stories can be found on my fiction site at: 
http://www.dlc.fi/~dce/fic/index.html