Part Five


"How is she now?" Nick asked his partner.

"Not too good...does it ever get easier?"

Nick took his eyes off the road to look at Eric.  "Does what ever get easier?"

Eric sighed, "Everything...telling the families of the victims that they'll never
see their loved ones again.  The look on that woman's face..."
 
"Never.  It's the worst part of the job, I think," Nick said quietly, and then in an
effort to distract his partner away from the painful part of their job, "You said
she gave you a name of a suspect?"

"Her boyfriend, Jake Harrison."

Nick interrupted, "She gave him up, just like that?"

Eric shook his head.  "No, I was asking if he had any enemies, or gotten into
any fights that she knew of, and she mentioned Harrison reluctantly.  When I
pressed her, she said that he's always bothering her about her friendship with
the deceased...very possessive, borderline abusive...a real charming guy.  He
never liked Peters, as a matter of fact, Emma said that Harrison picked a fight
with him a few weeks ago and warned Peters to stay away from her.  She
mentioned that he's an EMT...don't they have access to epinephrine?"

Nick gave his partner an appreciative glance.  "Why, I believe they do.  Let's
pay a visit to our new friend, shall we?" 

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

The Caddy slid to a stop on the gravel driveway in front of the address that
Dispatch had given Eric.  Nick studied the structure as they got out of the car;
it was a three story Victorian house, looking like something out of a gothic
novel.  Eric slammed the car door and Nick winced at the sound.  "Eric..."

"Sorry, Nick.  This place is giving me the creeps.  All it needs is some fog and
a few bats."

Nick looked at his partner strangely.  "Watch many horror movies, Eric?"

"Probably too many," Eric sighed as he made his way to the front door,  "but
you have to admit that this place is spooky."

"I never said that it wasn't."  A peculiar look crossed Nick's face.  Eric rolled
his eyes; his partner was getting weird on him again.  "You're sure he lives
alone?"

"That's what Em...Ms. Fuller said.  Why?"

Nick shook his head.  "No reason.  Why don't you ring the bell, and I'll..."

"...take a look around back?" Eric finished.  "Be my guest."  He turned to find
Nick already gone.  Somehow, his partner had done it again, sped off without a
sound.  Come to think of it, it was as quiet as a tomb out here.  Counting to
ten as he climbed the porch steps, he paused before ringing the bell.  He heard
muffled voices.  For him to be hearing them, at least one of them had to be
yelling.

Eric tried the door, and found it unlocked.  "Today's my lucky day," he
murmured to himself as he stepped inside.  One voice, a man's, was clearer
now that he was inside.  The other voice was feminine, but beyond that he
couldn't discern any details. 

Fearing the worst, he cautiously made his way up the stairs to where he
thought the voices were coming from.  He quickened his pace when he realized
the female voice was Emma Fuller.  Eric had advised her to stay away as she
left the precinct.  The doorway was open, and he could hear her crying now,
asking Harrison not to...not to what?

Any intention of using the caution he'd learned in training went out the window
when her crying intensified.  He rushed into the room just as Harrison
backhanded Emma, and she stumbled backwards.  Eric caught her instinctively,
and steadied her as quickly as he could.  As he pushed Emma behind him, he
looked up to see a gun pointed at him.

"You don't want to be doing this, Jake," he said calmly, "I only came here to
ask you a few questions."  To himself, Eric prayed, 'Oh, please let Knight get in
here soon.'

"I'll do whatever I damned well please...I'm the one with the gun.  Who are you
anyway?"  He eyed Eric and Emma suspiciously.

"I'm Detective D'Angelo, Metro Homicide.  Please put the gun down, Mr.
Harrison, I just want to talk."  Eric put his hands up in what he hoped this nut
would perceive as a non-threatening gesture.  Where was Knight?

"Yeah, right."  Turning his attention to Emma, Harrison said, "It wasn't enough
that you had to come here and accuse me, you had to bring the cops into it
too?"

Emboldened from being shielded by Eric, Emma found her voice.  "I didn't
accuse you, Jake, I only wanted to know if you knew anything.  But you did
kill Matt, didn't you?  How could you do that?!  He was my best friend!"

Eric watched as Jake's grip on the gun tightened.  If he wasn't standing in
between them, Emma almost definitely would've been struck for her words. 
He remained silent as Jake yelled, "I told you that I didn't want him around,
Emma.  He was a drug addict.  Why don't you ever listen to me?"  He finally
turned his attention back to Eric.  "Get out of my way!"

"No, I'm not going to let you hurt her, Jake.  Put the gun down."

"Or you'll do what?  Get out of my way, or I'll go through you!"  

Clearly crazed now, Harrison didn't wait for Eric to react.  He clicked the
safety off of the gun...  'Damn it, the safety was on the whole time!' Eric
thought to himself.  The rest seemed to happen in slow motion.  As Harrison
fired, Nick came seemingly out of nowhere and jumped in front of Eric.  

Harrison fired several rounds into Nick's chest as Eric pushed Emma Fuller to
the ground and behind an overstuffed chair.  Eric looked up in time to see his
partner throw Harrison against the wall.  Harrison slumped to the ground.

"Knight!"

Nick turned around, his eyes were glowing and he had fangs.  Fangs.  But he
had been hurt saving them, and Eric had to help him.  Cautiously, Eric stood
up and approached his partner.  

"Are you a good witch, or a bad witch?"

Nick stared at his partner with a dumbfounded expression on his face, and after
blinking a few times, he burst out laughing.  He would have never expected
Eric to react like this...especially after his discovery of Nat in the morgue.  He
managed to gasp out, "What?"

Before Eric could think of a reply, he became aware of Emma screaming from
behind him.  Nick was beside her in an instant, and for the briefest of moments
Eric was apprehensive of what his partner might do.  After all, he had just
witnessed Nick in full...vampire mode, throwing the suspect up against the
wall.  But then he just as quickly remembered that Nick had just leapt in front
of their attacker and taken several bullets for that had been meant for Eric
himself.

This made him remember the man lying on the floor, and Eric moved to check
Harrison's vitals.  His pulse was steady, but an ambulance needed to be called
anyway.  Before he dialed for help, Eric watched for a moment, as Nick
seemed to hypnotize Emma into calming down, talking in a low, firm voice. 
As he placed the call, her eyes quickly glazed over, and Eric could see her lips
moving occasionally.  

Nick sat Emma down in a chair to rest, and approached Eric as he finished up
the phone call.  Eric spoke first, "An ambulance and backup are on the way."

"Good."  Nick was unsure of what to do.  His first instinct was to alter his
partner's memories of what had happened in this room.  But where had keeping
the truth from any his partners gotten him in the past?  They were supposed to
trust each other with their lives, and how could Eric do that if Nick kept
something this important from him?  He decided to leave it for now; the
decision could always be reversed later on, when they were away from here.

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

Nick studied his partner from the passenger seat of the Caddy.  He wasn't too
happy about letting Eric drive the car, but his partner was not about to take 'no'
for an answer.  Nick supposed that he shouldn't be driving in his
condition.--Most of the bullets had gone right through him, but there was still
one or two left inside...and it wasn't exactly a comfortable feeling.  

After telling Eric to head towards the Raven, Nick settled back into the seat
and tried to relax.  He and Eric would have to talk soon, and he wanted to
figure out exactly what his partner would have to be told.  If Eric were to keep
the knowledge that vampires existed, it would be Nick's responsibility to
protect him from certain members of the Community.

Eric snuck a glance at his partner and sighed.  What was going on in that guy's
head?  Eric had just witnessed something so incredible; he could barely believe
it.  He had felt sure that Nick would want to discuss it; if he hadn't, he could
have easily fixed Eric's memory--the same way he had with Emma Fuller.  He
spared Nick one more look as he made a left hand turn.

"So...you never answered my question...but I guess the fact that you took the
bullets that were meant for me means *something*...and you *are* a cop...so
I'm going to go with you're a good guy."

Nick twisted his body so he could face his partner.  "I don't want to be what I
am anymore, Eric...I haven't for a long time.  I didn't trust either of my other
partners with this, but I should have.  If you can't handle it..."

"You'll change my memories?  No thanks, partner.  I don't want anyone
messing with my head.  Besides, I already trusted you with my life, and
nothing's happened to change that."  Eric had the strangest sense of deja vu,
but he just couldn't get a grip what it was -- something involving Natalie.  She
quite obviously knew about Nick's...condition, and was most probably a
vampire herself.  "I do have some questions though..."

"I'll do my best to answer them, but there are some things that it's...safer if you
don't know." 

Eric let that sink in for a moment and then said, "You said you didn't want to
be...what you are anymore.  Can you change that?"

"I don't know, but I have to keep trying.  Nat's been my greatest hope in a long
time."

"Which brings me to my next question...or is this one of those
'safer-not-to-know' things?"  Eric held his breath as he waited for an answer. 
He supposed there would be nothing he could do to stop Nick from erasing his
memories, so he'd decided to ask as few questions as possible.

Nick hid a small smirk as he answered, "Nat's a vampire too, Eric...although
that's more of a recent development."

Eric stepped on the brakes just a little too hard as he pulled up in front of the
Raven.  Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Nick wincing at the 'abuse'
the Caddy was taking.  But he didn't really dwell on it; he just couldn't shake
the feeling of deja vu--it was that strong.  He was sure he was missing
something; there was no other explanation for the fact that he wasn't a
hysterical mess right now.

Could he have witnessed something similar before, and been hypnotized into
forgetting the entire incident?--What did Nick call it?  Whammied.--Could he
have been whammied before?  The thought was more than a little disturbing,
Eric reflected.

"Eric?"  Nick sighed when there was no reply; he hoped that he wasn't making
a mistake in trusting his partner.  Lacroix would definitely think so, and Nick
was sure to receive a lecture sometime in the near future.  As they approached
the doors, he briefly wondered about the reactions of his other 'family'
members.

Nick pulled Eric to a stop before they reached the crowd of would-be patrons
and the bouncer that was guarding the entrance.  "Listen, Eric, there's more I
have to tell you, but it can't be here.  Just stick close to me, and we'll finish our
conversation on the way back to the precinct."

"Sure, Nick, whatever," Eric answered in a slightly distracted voice.  Nick
seemed to accept this, because he turned and led the way to the Raven's
entrance.  He nodded a greeting at the bouncer, who opened the door to let
them in.  Eric heard the squawks of the waiting crowd as the door shut behind
them.

As they made their way to the stairs leading to the dance floor, Eric quickly
scanned the club.  Marguerite was behind the bar, apparently standing in for
the usual bartender, who was nowhere in evidence.  She was leaning on the bar
talking to Natalie, who was sipping at a drink.  He shook his head as an image
of the two women having a discussion about him entered into his mind.

Eric followed Nick as he expertly threaded his way through the revelers on the
dance floor.  He couldn't help but notice what a gothic theme this place had. 
He briefly locked eyes with a beautiful pale-faced blonde, who was assessing
him with a hungry look.  It was then that Eric realized why his partner told him
to stick close; mortals weren't the only ones in the crowd.

Now was not the time to get the willies, but he found himself haunted by
visions of fangs and a pair of glowing eyes--and they didn't belong to Nick.  He
had the strangest sensation of trying to run, but he couldn't get away.  Instead,
he was confronted with the face of...Natalie Lambert Knight.

++++++++++++++++++++

 Eric realized that he'd been staring dumbfounded at his partner's wife.  He
tried to focus on the conversation going on before him, but he found it hard to
concentrate.  He watched distractedly as Marguerite whispered something into
a waitress' ear.  The waitress put down her tray and took up a position behind
the bar.

"Natalie, why don't you take Uncle Nick up to Lacroix's rooms so you can
inspect his injuries?  I'll take a break and keep Eric company."

Nick seemed much relieved at Marguerite's suggestion, and he and Natalie
made their was towards the back of the club.  Eric eyed Marguerite warily as
she hooked her arm through his.  "Let's go somewhere quieter, Detective.  It
sounds like you've had quite a night."

Suspicious, he was about to resist when he noticed Marguerite glancing to one
side of him.  He followed her line of sight to see the blonde he'd locked eyes
with making her way towards him.  As he allowed himself to be led away, Eric
saw Alejandro come seemingly out of nowhere and intercept the pale beauty
with a hand on her arm and a charming smile.  When they'd reached the relative
quiet of the hallway that led to Lacroix's office and the sound booth,
Marguerite murmured, "She's one of the reasons you have to be careful in here,
Eric."

*****

Nat pushed Nick up the stairs, grumbling all the way.  "I can't believe
you...jumping in front of Eric like that in front of witnesses!  Why don't you
just wear a sign around your neck?"  After one last half-hearted shove, Nick
stumbled through the door and into the living room.  The rooms were pretty
much the way Lacroix had decorated them, but there were traces of his niece
all through the rooms.

He led the way to the bedroom, and Natalie followed behind him with her
medical bag, which she had picked up from Lacroix's office.  "What witnesses,
Nat?  The perp hit his head and isn't really sure what happened, and his
girlfriend was hysterical...she doesn't remember a thing." 

Nat snorted, "Sure, after you hypnotized her.  What if she was a Resister,
Nick?"

"It was a chance that I had to take.  I couldn't let Eric get hurt, Nat.  I wasn't
about to lose my third partner in as many years."  Nick took off his shirt and
laid down on the bed so Natalie could take a look at any wounds he might still
have.

*****

Marguerite ushered him into the empty office, and motioned for him to sit
down as she poured him a drink.  She watched in slight amusement as he
downed the drink and held the glass out for a refill.  After complying with his
unspoken request, she settled herself on the chair opposite him.  She was
relieved to see Eric looking a little more like himself.  She crossed her legs,
exposing more leg than necessary, and was rewarded when it had the intended
effect.

She tilted her head to study him as she asked, "Feeling better?"

Eric nodded.  "Yeah, thanks.  The Captain would kill me for drinking on the
job, but if he'd seen what I'd seen tonight..."

"Whoa, that's far enough!  I think we need to talk--actually, I think you should
listen while I talk...at least for a bit."  When he remained silent, she continued,
"I'm sure you have a lot of questions, and you're probably dying to talk about
this with somebody, but you have to be extremely careful, Eric.  Uncle Nick is
trusting you with something that could get you both killed.  There are certain
members of our...community that are against anyone knowing that we exist."

Deciding on a question he thought to be the least obtrusive, he took her pause
as an opportunity to ask, "Is Nick really your uncle?"

*****

Nat sighed as she removed the supplies that she would need from her medical
bag.  "You're right, Nick.  Do you think he'll remember what happened in the
morgue last night?"

"I think he suspects something, but I doubt he'll remember the whole thing. 
Besides, I'm sure Daisy didn't just have baby-sitting my partner in mind when
she volunteered to take her break."

Natalie smiled as she fished around for the first bullet.  "No, I doubt that too. 
You should have seen Lacroix's face when she announced that she was wearing
that outfit to tend the bar in."

"I can only imagine...I wish I could've seen it.  Although, I can see why.  Did
you see the look on Eric's face when she stepped from behind the bar?  What's
my niece doing there anyway?  Where's Miklos?"

*****

Marguerite smiled in amusement before answering, "Yes, Nick is really my
uncle...although, we're separated by a generation or two more than everyone
thinks."

Encouraged, he asked, "So...are you one of them?"

She smiled coyly.  "What do you think?"

Eric finally started to relax; it was obvious that Marguerite was teasing him. 
He smiled back at her.  "Will you trust me with your secret?"

*****

The next bullet came out easily.  "Miklos took a vacation."  Off Nick's
questioning look, "Yes, a vacation.  He told Lacroix that he was going away
for a week.  Apparently, he needed a break after the last few weeks...it must
have been really tense around here."

Nick grinned and sat up.  "Miklos is a brave soul."

Natalie wiped her instruments off and started to put them away.  "He'd have to
be to work here for so long.  So, about Eric..."

"He's probably going to start seeing vampires everywhere, like Tracy did,"
Nick sighed wistfully.  Tracy hadn't been his partner for very long, but he
missed her greatly, even now.  "I don't know what Daisy's going to tell him,
but as far as I know, he only definitely knows about you and me."  He grabbed
his shirt and put it on.

"He probably suspects everyone we know by now.  Are they going to be okay
with this?"

Nick rolled his eyes.  "I'm going to get one of Lacroix's infamous 'Oh,
Nicholas' lectures, but it's not going to change my mind.  I'm set on this, Nat;
I'm going to let Eric keep his memories.  I didn't tell Schanke or Tracy, and it
didn't help them at all.  Maybe if Eric knows what I am, things will be different
this time."

"And the others?  You can try to ignore Lacroix, but what about Kayla?  Or
Anton?"

*****

"Can I trust you?  Maybe you should ask yourself if you can trust me,"
Marguerite countered teasingly, and then soberly, "I really shouldn't joke
around with you about this, Eric.  If an Enforcer finds out that you know about
us, we could all be in serious trouble.  You can't discuss what you know with
*anyone*, except for myself, Uncle Nick...and probably Natalie."

"I won't," he promised.  "Besides, no one would believe me anyway."

"Probably not...unless you're telling another vampire."  She smiled.  "But I'm
sure Uncle Nick will explain this to you in great detail."

*****

Nick took Natalie into his arms and kissed the top of her head.  "I don't know
what Kayla and Anton will say, but they won't have to worry, because I'm
going to explain to Eric just how important this secret is.  I'm going to tell him
about Enforcers..."

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

"So, Enforcers are like vampire police?" Eric asked.

Nick glanced at his partner, who was taking this rather well, all things
considered.  After the trip to the Raven with Eric behind the wheel, it was
good to be in the driver's seat of the Caddy again.  He drove slowly, dreading
the paperwork that they would have to fill out after the events of this evening. 
"Kind of, they enforce the Code, which is our set of rules."

"Nick, like I told Daisy, I'm not going to talk about this with anyone."

Nick sighed; recalling that the last person he'd trusted with his secret had been
Natalie.  This was going to be tougher than he thought.

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

Several nights later...

Lacroix leaned on the railing that ran around the second floor of the loft. 
Nicholas was aware of the presence of his master, but chose to ignore it in
favor of what was playing on the television screen.  Curious as to what could
possibly hold his son's attention so raptly, Lacroix started down the stairs,
keeping his eye on the screen.  Once he realized what Nicholas was watching,
Lacroix quickly dismissed it and went to the refrigerator to help himself to a
drink.

When he returned to the living room area, Lacroix still kept his distance. 
Watching Nick watch the television--the blonde Slayer and her demon lover
were angsting over how they couldn't be together.  Lacroix was familiar
enough with the show; Marguerite sometimes watched it herself, although she
was enamoured of the young blond hellraiser called Spike.  Lacroix supposed
that Nick identified with the Slayer and her lover, seeing himself with Natalie
as a mortal.  His son was ever the tragic romantic.

Finally the show was over, and Nick turned to Lacroix and smiled impishly. 
"New fan of the show, Lacroix?"

"Actually, Nicholas, I thought I'd escape this particular brand of torture by
coming here, but of course, I was wrong."

Nick shrugged.  "You didn't have to stay."  

Lacroix sipped at his drink before replying, "It was either that, or waste a
perfectly good monologue on trust and the truth.  Really, Nicholas, what good
is fatherly advice if you're not listening to it?  Although I've heard your partner
is a fan of the show, maybe he'd be listening?"

"I've made up my mind, Lacroix, Eric is going to keep his knowledge of us. 
Tracy and Schanke didn't know, and it didn't keep them from dying."

Lacroix inclined his head.  "Point taken.  This really is your decision, Nicholas. 
But see that it doesn't affect all of us."

"It won't," Nick paused, searching for a way to change the topic of the
conversation.  He took a drink while he thought, and suddenly he remembered
something he'd been meaning to discuss with his maker.  "Speaking of affecting
people, Lacroix, did Daisy tell you what happened to Roberts, the detective
that annoyed her?"

Lacroix was trying his best to look innocent...and failing miserably.  "Mmm,
yes...she told me that he's turning over a new leaf, so to speak.  Volunteering
in a woman's abuse crisis center?  Can't say that I'm surprised; he'd probably
saw the...error of his ways, and is trying to change."

Nick gave Lacroix a disbelieving look.  "And you and Alejandro had nothing to
do with it?"

Lacroix smiled widely.  "I promised Marguerite that I wouldn't hurt the man; I
never promised to stay away from him."  After taking a sip of his drink, he
added, "It's the first thing that Alejandro and I have done together; even
Marguerite was impressed."

Nick was quite amazed himself.  He smiled as he thought that there was hope
for Lacroix yet.  They were both settling into their places in this strange family,
and Nick was feeling the happiest he'd been for the first time in a long time. 
He still yearned to be mortal, but he found that this existance was more
bearable.  And he finally had hope that realizing his dreams was possible.


The End

Lisa
Feedback welcome -- lmharvey@hotmail.com