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Disclaimers: nothing belongs to me except the story, which I happen
to like
very much, thank you. The song is by everclear. I couldn't
resist writing
this!! Archive: fkfanfic,
ftp, Lisa
H., wherever as long as you send me the
addy so I can gloat. ;)= Thanks, Lee, for the 'twisted' compliment!!!
This
is season two-ish. Lacroix owns the Raven, and Schanke's Nick's
partner.
Oh, and this changes everything, so the third season doesn't happen...
at
least not as we know it. Just so ya know. ;)
Karaoke Night at the Raven. One more proof that if you get a Roman
drunk
enough, he will do anything you want. But that's another story.
Lacroix felt his son's presence and, grasping his drink, meandered to
the
doorway where Nicholas was standing, mouth agape.
"You really did it!" Nick said, in shock. "You instituted
Karaoke Night at
the Raven!"
Lacroix shrugged, enjoying the erstwhile Crusader's discomfiture.
"Why
not?"
"'Scuse me," came a voice from behind the 'family.' Nick's partner,
Donald
G. Schanke, squeezed himself between the wall and Nick, on the side
away
from the Nightcrawler. Schanke's jaw dropped. "Karaoke
Night? Awesome! I
love this stuff! I'm gonna go sing -- 'scuse me, Nicky."
Lacroix' left eyebrow rose at 'Nicky' and the General quirked a smirk
at his
son. He grabbed the portlier detective by one arm and looked
into his eyes.
"You will not sing in my establishment. You will instead
wait in the...
schooner." The General couldn't bring himself to say 'car' --
Nick's boat
was enormous compared to his little green VW Bug... but nobody was
supposed
to know about that. "You will see nothing wrong with Nicholas'
activities
and will allow him to come here whenever he wishes. Do I make
myself
clear?"
Schanke nodded and gave the club owner a cautious look. "Yeah.
Uh, look,
Nick, I'll just wait in the car. Come out when you're ready."
He
about-faced and left.
Nick grinned lopsidedly at his father. "I always wanted to do that."
Lacroix smiled back. He was getting along better with his son
than he had
in ages... well, centuries. He took a sip from his wineglass
and stood
beside his son, waiting for the next act to come on.
The 'next act' was a young lady, most likely barely legal age or a vampire
-- it was hard to hear a single heartbeat over the crowd noises.
She was
regal and blonde, with her hair done up in a way that seemed vaguely
familiar to Lacroix. She pulled the microphone off its stand
and waited for
her cue to sing.
The music started almost immediately. The young woman adjusted
her mouth
for greatest volume, then belted out the words --
~~~~~~~~~~
father of mine
tell me where have you been
you know i just closed my eyes
my whole world disappeared
father of mine
take me back to the day
when i was still your golden girl
back before you went away
~~~~~~~~~~
Nick closed his eyes and listened to the music. He thought of
how bad he'd
felt when he'd supposedly killed his vampire father. Although
he didn't
often like to admit it, they *were* family.
~~~~~~~~~~
i remember blue skies
walking the block
i loved it when you held me high
i loved to hear you talk
you would take me to the circus
~~~~~~~~~~
Nick frowned. Circus?
The girl's eyes wandered across the room as if she was looking for someone.
~~~~~~~~~~
you would take me to the beach
you would take me to a place inside
that is so hard to reach
~~~~~~~~~~
Nick tried to imagine Lacroix taking him to the beach. He jokingly
wondered
if his master would 'melt' in the water.
~~~~~~~~~~
father of mine
tell me where did you go
you had the world inside your hand
but you did not seem to know
father of mine
tell me what do you see
when you look back at your wasted life
and you don't see me
~~~~~~~~~~
Lacroix usually didn't regret losing his mortal life, but this particular
verse made him think. He had had power, fame, military might,
and family.
Not like he paid attention to his family. Perhaps that was why
he clung so
hard to Nicholas.
~~~~~~~~~~
i was ten years old
doing all that i could
it wasn't easy for me
to be a scared small girl
in a sick neighborhood
~~~~~~~~~~
The girl's eyes seemed to focus on the darkness around Nick and Lacroix,
piercing right through it. It was almost creepy, Nick thought,
how the very
essence of her voice seemed to be bitter.
Lacroix was thinking of his mortal daughter. Was it any wonder
she turned
out so... sick? Living among the hormone-crazed people of his
household....
~~~~~~~~~~
sometimes you would share stories of your heart
tell me who you had killed
i never understood you then
and i guess i never will
~~~~~~~~~~
Nick looked sideways at Lacroix. "She's changing the lyrics!
These are
really weird."
"Yes, I noticed," came the reply, but the master vampire's voice was
a bit
hoarse.
~~~~~~~~~~
daddy gave me a name
my dad he gave me a name
then he walked away
daddy gave me a name
then he walked away
my dad he gave me a name
~~~~~~~~~~
Lacroix thought back to the naming customs of his time. These
lyrics would
be particularly apt in that time, where people, especially women, were
known
by their family names.
~~~~~~~~~~
father of mine
tell me where have you been
i just closed my eyes
and the world disappeared
~~~~~~~~~~
Lacroix wondered what dying had been like for his daughter. She
hadn't
expected it at all.... But why was he thinking about her now?
He was over
his mortal past! It was probably the song. He must be getting
soft, or
drunk.
~~~~~~~~~~
father of mine
tell me how do you sleep
with the child you had murdered
crushed my soul beneath your feet
~~~~~~~~~~
Nick shuddered. This was getting freaky. He would call the cops
-- except
he *was* the cops!
It looked like the lady was glaring at his master for a second.
Then she
closed her eyes and wailed out the next lines.
~~~~~~~~~~
i will never be safe
i will never be sane
i will always be weird inside
i will always be lame
~~~~~~~~~~
Her voice sent chills up and down the spines of the patrons -- and the
proprietor. Several people looked ready to cry.
~~~~~~~~~~
now i'm an old vamp
with a childe of my own
~~~~~~~~~~
Lacroix sharply looked up from his musings. Was she trying to
give away the
Community?
~~~~~~~~~~
and i swear that i'm not going to let her know
all the pain i have known
~~~~~~~~~~
A young, blonde vampire brushed past Nick. He recognized her as
Tracy
Vetter from the day shift. The female vampire cop gave a thumbs-up
to the
lady on the stage, then gave a funny look to the male vampire cop.
~~~~~~~~~~
then he walked away
daddy gave me a name
then he walked away
my dad he gave me a name
then he walked away
daddy gave me a name
then he walked away
my dad he gave me a name
~~~~~~~~~~
Vetter looked at Nick's flabbergasted expression, then said, "My father
was
never home, either."
'Either?' Nick thought. He knew Vetter's father was the police
commissioner, but who was that singer's father?
~~~~~~~~~~
then he walked away
~~~~~~~~~~
Lacroix gasped loudly and raggedly enough to make several patrons turn
towards him.
"Divia," he croaked.
"My daughter!!"
