Part Seven Okay, this is the end. Let me say once more that the FK characters don't belong to me, but mine do. The poems "To Ruin" and "To a Mountain Daisy" belong to Robert Burns. No copyright infringment is intended. ******************** Lacroix walked over to Nick and sat down next to him. He could sense Nick’s distress, so he whispered quietly, “Do not blame yourself for this, Nicholas. Natalie is very strong willed; she makes her own decisions.” “But I left her alone...” “Marcus could have gotten her from the loft just as easily, Nicholas.” “You’re probably right, Lacroix.” Lacroix smirked. “I usually am, Nicholas, you just would never admit it.” Nick shot him an exasperated look, and pushed his wrist in front of Lacroix. “Just drink, Lacroix.” Marguerite was straining to hear Nick’s conversation with Lacroix, but she could hear Kayla arguing with Marcus in hushed tones. They were arguing in Latin, and Marguerite abandoned eavesdropping on her uncle in favor of her mother. Finally, Kayla screamed, “Enough!” Marguerite turned from Nat in time to see Kayla rip Marcus’ head from his body. Marguerite exchanged a look with Lacroix as he commented, “I’ll endeavor to stay on her good side.” She rolled her eyes, and returned her attention to Natalie. Nat was staring wide-eyed at the scene before her. Marguerite brushed Nat’s hair away from her face. “Your wound doesn’t look too bad -- all things considered, but you’ll need more blood to heal. Will you be okay with this, Nat?” Marguerite jerked her head towards the scene behind her. Nat nodded slowly. “I think so... I’ve seen worse, but I’ve never met someone so evil. He deserved to die.” “He deserved much worse, but I’ll settle for his death.” Lacroix was poised for one of his typical witticisms when Kayla called for Nick and Marguerite to come to her. Kayla spoke as they approached, “Marguerite, the four of you can go home, and I’ll clean up here. You may want to stop by the Raven and pick up another case or two, though.” Marguerite nodded. “I can do that, and Uncle Nick can take Natalie straight to the townhouse.” Nick disagreed, “I’d rather take Nat back to the loft.” Marguerite turned to him, and spoke with a hint of menace in her voice, “You will not separate me from my child while she is wounded, Nicolas. I would not deal with it well. If you hadn’t left her alone in the first place...” It was Nick’s turn to be angry, and he interrupted, “You blame me for my lack of caution, but you were out cruising all over Toronto last night. -- You didn’t seem to think there was any danger.” Marguerite’s green eyes were flecked with gold as she replied. Lacroix was amused to note that Marguerite had reverted to her native French in her agitation. Nick answered her in kind, and the argument escalated. Lacroix turned to Natalie, who was trying to make sense out of the conversation. “I can see that I’ll have to tutor you in the archaic form of French in which they are speaking, my dear. Otherwise, you’ll never know when they are arguing about you.” “I can follow most of it.” Lacroix got up and helped Natalie to her feet. She was still unsteady on her feet, so Lacroix held onto her as they walked. “Very good, because now is not the time for a refresher course. We have to break them up before one of them does something rash.” Nat quipped, “Well, that shouldn’t take too long.” As they approached the group, Kayla interrupted loudly, “That’s enough, you two! We will *all* be spending the day at the townhouse. Is that clear, Nicholas?” Nick nodded mutely. Satisfied, Kayla turned to Marguerite to ask, “And you’ll do as I have asked, Marguerite?” “Right now, Maman.” Marguerite looked at Nick. “Would you like anything from the loft, Uncle Nick? I’m going to pick up my car before I go to the Raven. I could pack some things for you.” Nick was willing to accept Marguerite’s unspoken apology -- tonight hadn’t been easy on either of them. “Thanks, Daisy, I’d appreciate that.” Lacroix caught Marguerite’s arm as she turned to go. “I hope you are aware that I’m coming with you.” She teased, “I thought you were...unwilling to get in a car with me again. You’ve changed you mind?” “I find that I am more unwilling to leave your side, mon amour. However, you could drive slower, considering my injury.” Marguerite’s eyes sparkled with mischief as she replied, “I’ll try to go easy on you, Lucien. I know despite your great age, it may take you awhile to heal. I’ll take good care of you.” Lacroix nudged her toward the exit and grumbled, “Oh, you’ll know when I’m healed, and then I’ll take care of you.” Kayla called after them, “Lucius, do not distract my daughter from her task.” She looked to see Nick and Natalie still standing there. Nick seemed bemused, and Nat had to nudge him. “Um, Nick, if you’re done, I’d like to go home and get cleaned up, if you don’t mind. Now is not the time to get that far off look in your eyes.” Nick picked her up and held her in his arms. “Sorry, Nat, you must be exhausted.” After a quick farewell to Kayla, they were gone. Kayla blew the wayward strands of hair out of her eyes, and wondered how long she was going to have to hang around Toronto. One thing was for sure, she was going to have to find a new place to stay while she *was* here. Marguerite would need her privacy now, and Kayla was only too glad to give it to her. While she worked, Kayla wondered how much persuasion it would take for that nice young man in the townhouse next door to sell... #################### It was still early, but the Raven was fairly crowded. Lacroix sat watching from his broadcast booth, but he didn’t feel like a Nightcrawler broadcast tonight. Right now, it was just a quiet place where he could observe the crowd and reflect on the last few days. He watched Marguerite as she moved among the crowd. She seemed to be having a good time. Lacroix smiled to himself as he thought of what had happened after he and Marguerite left the warehouse. He hadn’t left her side, and she hadn’t wanted to be far from him either. Lacroix watched Marguerite now, as a young mortal male approached her. He had apparently asked her to dance, because she took his hand, and they began to move in time to the music. In the background, he could see his son walk in with Natalie. Nick sat Natalie down at the bar and asked Miklos to get her a drink...and to keep an inconspicuous eye on her. Not that Nat was likely to get up from her stool. -- Like Nick, she had seen Marguerite dancing with the mortal boy, and Nat kept her gaze on her maker, seemingly fascinated. Nick doubted she even noticed when he left her side in search of Lacroix. He sensed his master wanted to speak with him for some reason, and so Nick was here...somewhat reluctantly. Nat had jumped at the chance to go out, especially to the Raven, where she could see the bar in a whole new light. Nick eased the soundproof door to the broadcast booth open, and stood, quietly studying Lacroix as the door slid silently shut. Lacroix was obviously enthralled by Marguerite. Nick needed proof that it was actually love, although the few things he had witnessed were inexplicable otherwise. Besides the fierce was Lacroix had defended Marguerite; Lacroix would do that for anything he deemed his. He had actually let Marguerite fuss over him and his wound when they returned to the townhouse. He seemed to actually enjoy the attention. Nick remembered that whenever he or Janette had tried to do anything similar, Lacroix would push them away -- unless their help was necessary. “I had hoped you’d given up skulking in doorways, Nicholas. It just isn’t polite.” Startled, Nick made his way over to where Lacroix sat, and took the only other seat in the room. “What do you want, Lacroix?” Lacroix finally looked at his son. “Honestly, Nicholas, would it kill you to make small talk for once? Something like, ‘Good evening, Lacroix.’ would be acceptable. You might even inquire about my injury. -- I managed to ask Natalie how she was feeling before you whisked her off. -- Something you could have done after Marguerite had a chance to see her, by the way.” Nick asked impatiently, “And your point is, Lacroix?” Lacroix studied Nick a moment. As usual, they had started off on the wrong foot. Oh, well, no one knew better than Lacroix that old habits died hard. He decided to start over. “Excuse me, Nicholas. I have become distracted from what I had wanted to say. I know we have not always gotten along, but if you’ll remember, there was a time when we were close.” Nick slowly nodded; not sure where Lacroix was going with this. “I have been thinking that the time has come to give you the freedom to do as you please.” Before Nick could comment, Lacroix held up a hand. “Please, Nicholas, do not tell me that you have been doing exactly as you’ve liked these past few years. Just as I’ve kept you from Natalie, I have kept you from doing other things as well. Sometimes I have been a bit...extreme, and I apologize. But I truly believed it was in your best interest at the time. It will be hard for me at first, but I will do my best not to interfere with your life, I promise you.” Nick was still suspicious; this was too good to be true. “I don’t want to sound like I’m not grateful, Lacroix, but I will not trade Marguerite’s freedom for my own.” Lacroix smirked. “Trade? Come now, Nicholas, do you really think Kayla would permit me to run Marguerite’s life? -- Do you actually think Marguerite would stand for it, for that matter?” Lacroix seemed amused by his own question, and then grew serious. “When Marguerite gave her blood to heal me, I was overwhelmed by what I found. Your niece is more than capable of standing up for herself, Nicholas. Do not underestimate her. -- It took me until late this afternoon to convince her that I would not injure myself further by consummating our relationship... And you know how persuasive I can be.” Nick gave him a blank look and asked, “And because she can resist your seductive charms, she can stand up to you?” Lacroix sighed, “She has stood up to me since the night we met, and apparently becoming a vampire has not changed her overmuch. Once again, you are missing my point entirely, Nicholas. You can be quite obtuse at times. -- We exchanged blood, and among other things, I discovered she has more in common with you than I realized. -- Did you know she has not killed in quite some time?” Nick was starting to figure out what Lacroix was alluding to, or at least he thought he was. He had to ask, “Does she want to be mortal?” Lacroix didn’t answer right away. Instead, he glanced towards the dance floor, and found that Marguerite had disappeared with the mortal. Then he noticed Kayla had entered the club, and was making her was toward the back. -- To where he sensed Marguerite was. Lacroix smiled to himself when he finally answered, “She has your spirit, but she is not *that* much like you, Nicholas. Marguerite has accepted what she is... You could learn from her.” Nick watched as Marguerite appeared next to Nat. Miklos presented both of them with fresh glasses, and Marguerite led Natalie towards Lacroix’s office. ********** Natalie was looking at Marguerite in horrified fascination as she asked, “Kayla isn’t going to kill that guy, is she?” Marguerite sat down next to Nat as she replied, “No... at least she usually doesn’t. It’s too risky for our kind to kill the way we used to; people are too easily missed now. But I didn’t bring you in here to discuss feeding habits; I wanted to see how you were. Uncle Nick spirited you away before I could check up on you.” Nat smiled. “Well, you took your time coming downstairs. I thought you would’ve come down with Lacroix.” Marguerite rolled her eyes. “No, I had to kick him out so I could get dressed. I know you won’t believe this, but Lucien was quite...amorous.” Natalie almost choked on her drink. Coughing, she said, “You’re right, I don’t.” Marguerite retorted, “I’m glad you find it amusing, but you won’t find it pleasant if you laugh so hard that the blood you’re drinking comes out your nose.” “Ew! Sorry! So...you had a good time then?” Marguerite smiled and finished her drink before answering, “It was quite...wonderful. -- Once I allowed him to convince me that he was healed...and persuade me that I was ready. I didn’t need persuading, of course, but he thought that I did.” Nat realized that she and Nick were needlessly concerned for Marguerite’s welfare. However, life as Lacroix knew it might never be the same again. Not that she felt sorry for him. -- She couldn’t think of a suitable comment, but Marguerite didn’t seem to notice, because she continued on, “I told him about you and Nick.” Nat was immediately curious. “And?” Marguerite shrugged. “He seemed to take it fine, but he was otherwise occupied. -- Do you know what they’re talking about now?” Natalie shook her head. “No, Nick had no idea... But you do, don’t you?” Marguerite replied, “I might... I do. I was going to wait for Uncle Nick to tell you, but he may be speechless after the shock.” Nat slapped Marguerite’s arm in an effort to hurry her up. “What?!” “Sorry... Lucien has decided to let Uncle Nick lead his own life, with no interference. That’s what he should be telling him now.” Natalie looked doubtful. “I don’t get it. Why? Do you really believe he’ll do it?” Marguerite got up to wander around the room. “I may as well tell you the truth. I asked him to do it...” Nat cut her off, “You’re willing to give your freedom for Nick’s? He’ll never let you do that.” As she pulled a bottle out of the wine rack, Marguerite turned to look at Natalie. “No, it’s not like that at all. I needed proof that he wouldn’t treat me the same as Uncle Nick. I could never live like that. Letting Uncle Nick go was the only thing Lucien could do to ease my mind.” She returned to the couch, and sat down. As Marguerite refilled their glasses, Natalie asked, “So... What happens now?” Marguerite sipped at her drink before replying, “Well, you’re going to move in with Uncle Nick?” Although it was a rhetorical question, Natalie nodded before Marguerite continued, “Kayla’s moving out; she’s decided that Lucien and I should stay in the townhouse. She told me Lucien that no child of hers is going to live in the back rooms of a tavern. -- As if I’d live here. Could you imagine Calvin in here? -- Anyway, Kayla persuaded the man living next door to sell, and that’s where she’ll stay when she’s in Toronto.” Natalie let that sink in. “...when she’s in Toronto? Wait a minute, you’ve lost me. Kayla’s leaving? She just got here.” Marguerite watched the liquid swirling around in her glass as she answered, “She’s not leaving quite yet, but when she’s satisfied that everything’s settled, she’ll probably go back to Alejandro.” ********** Nick commented to Lacroix without turning, “Maybe we both could learn something, Lacroix.” “There is no maybe, Nicholas. The two of you could learn much from Marguerite *and* Natalie.” Nick and Lacroix turned to see Kayla in the doorway. She smiled at them as she wiped a drop of blood from the corner of her mouth. “Bon soir, Nicolas. Lucien. It’s a beautiful evening, is it not? Far too beautiful for a Nightcrawler broadcast, perhaps?” Lacroix stood up and offered his seat to Kayla as he answered, “I found that I had nothing to lecture about tonight. Did you enjoy your meal?” Nick’s eyes widened as he realized the mortal that his niece had been dancing with had disappeared. “Oh yes, he was quite enjoyable. I must thank Marguerite for finding him for me.” Kayla shook her head in disappointment as she noticed the expression on Nick’s face. “Oh, don’t get all bent out of shape, Nicholas. I only took a taste. Hardly anyone kills anymore. He thinks he drank too much, that’s all. He’s lying down in the back. -- Now, you may have had nothing to lecture about this evening, Lucius, but I do. Tonight’s topic, my children, is harmony within the family.” The door slid shut as Kayla left the doorway to stroll towards the seat that Lacroix had offered her. The End.