Downward Spiral
By Jarvinia

This story starts mid-late second season.  As for a rating, probably
on the high end of PG-13 for, well, violence and a couple of not-so-
pretty scenes!  And I feel I should apologise to any NatPackers.
Can't say more here, though.  Again, sorry.  :(

Many thanks to my beta-reader!  I've since read through it enough
times that any mistakes are most definitely mine, though!  May not be
archived without permission.  No infringement is intended through
borrowing the FK characters.

Comments, suggestions, dark chocolate, white chocolate, vampires, etc.
are more than welcome!

Enjoy!


Downward Spiral - (01/27)

[Mid-late February, 1995]

"Where is he?" Janette asked as she impatiently paced.

LaCroix placed the last bottle of the moderate supply of human blood
they had brought into Nick's refrigerator.  Hand still clutching the
neck of the last bottle, LaCroix closed his eyes for a moment.
Reopening them, he stated, "Nicholas will be here shortly."

Sure enough, a few minutes later--just enough time for LaCroix to stow
away the box he had brought the bottles in and for Janette's worry to
intensify as dawn approached--the elevator sprang to life.  Instantly,
Janette flew over to the elevator and waited for it to arrive.  As
soon as Nick pulled the door open and stepped out, Janette kissed him
desperately on the lips.  It was a very brief kiss, however, and
pulling back, Janette led Nick toward the couch.  She sat down and
tugged on Nick's arm, trying to get him to do the same.

"What is going on?" Nick asked, turning first to LaCroix and then back
to an almost distraught Janette.

"Please, Nicolas, sit," Janette pleaded, again trying to pull him
toward the cushions.

Still baffled by both Janette and LaCroix' presence, Nick initially
hesitated but did do as asked with Janette's insistence.  Almost
instantly, he found Janette leaning heavily against his shoulder.
"Janette--"

"Tell him, LaCroix," Janette whispered, not lifting her head.

Nick looked toward LaCroix.  He nearly stood back up, but Janette
still held on to him.  "What's going on?" Nick again asked, this time
more insistent.  "Why are you both here, now, so close to dawn?"

LaCroix remained frozen in place.  After a few more seconds, he simply
stated, "We are being hunted."

"We?" Nick asked, his worry rising.

"Vampires, Nicolas.  Vampires," Janette told him.

"They are silently killing us.  Murdering us, executing us," LaCroix
explained, hissing the last with anger.

It took a moment before the statement sunk in.  By LaCroix' tone this
was far more serious than a couple of random killings.  "How long?"

"Three weeks.  Perhaps longer."  LaCroix paused before further
explaining, "At first, it was believed to be a couple of lucky
hunters.  A coincidence."

"But then?"

When LaCroix looked away, Janette whispered, "Dozens have died,
Nicolas."

Nick pushed Janette away and stood.  "How do you know this, LaCroix?"

"Initially, there was nothing more than faint rumours and mentions
floating among us.  After a week of recent deaths, Aristotle and
others started examining--"

"And the Enforcers?" Nick asked, cutting LaCroix off.

"Busy," LaCroix answered.  He walked to the kitchen and pulled out an
empty wine glass.  He turned it in his fingers several times.
"Enraged."  LaCroix snapped the glass' stem and let the pieces drop to
the counter.

Nick took a step closer.  "LaCroix?"

Janette stood and walked up to Nick, her hands resting on his
shoulders.  "LaCroix has tried talking to them, questioning them...but
they won't--"

"They are at a loss."  LaCroix spun to face Nick and Janette.  "It's
clear that they were caught off-guard.  They have done nothing but
lose ground since this began."

"Some of us believe those hunting us not only know about the
Enforcers, but that they have killed a number of them, purposely, so
that they could not as easily be stopped," Janette whispered.  She
closed her eyes, then more firmly told Nick, "It is becoming difficult
to obtain what we need, Nicolas.  I have already had a few shipments
simply not arrive...."

"It is becoming dangerous for those buying or selling blood," LaCroix
said.

Nick tensed.  He was running low on cow's blood and would need more
soon.  And if Janette was having trouble getting shipments for the
Raven....  "Then they'll find us," Nick whispered.

"Yes," Janette confirmed.  "We...brought you a modest supply of
blood."

"Human?" he asked, turning sharply toward Janette.

"Of course," LaCroix said.  Seeing Nick ready to protest, he
continued, "It would not be wise to obtain blood--even animal blood--
from mortals.  I am sure even you can see the reasons behind that."

At the remark, Nick instinctively sent a glare at LaCroix.  However,
after a moment, he relaxed and nodded.  If he had to consume human
blood to avoid attention being brought to him, then he would.

"It should last you several weeks, at least," Janette softly told him.

Nick turned away from both of them, his thoughts starting to run wild.
This could not be happening.  "Those doing this...."

"Mortals," LaCroix answered.

After a moment, Janette elaborated, "A large and very organised group
of them.  Possibly even an...official organisation."

LaCroix nearly glared at Janette, but nodded instead.  "They are
efficient, careful, and have well-thought plans.  They are too
organised for a small group, and too methodical to be doing this on a
whim.  It is suspected that their operations are funded; but whether
privately or through more official sources, we don't know."  LaCroix
started across the room and toward the elevator.  He turned back and
turned to his daughter.  "Janette?"

"I am staying here, LaCroix.  It is after dawn and--"

LaCroix left, giving barely a glance to Janette as her response cut
off.

Once Nick had recovered from LaCroix' quick departure, he turned to
Janette.

"LaCroix, how--"

"You sense it?" she asked, stepping closer.

Nick hesitated, glancing away.

Janette turned Nick's gaze back to her.  "You do, don't you?"

"He is pushing himself, tiring himself."

"Yes.  He knows."  Janette reached her arms up to and around Nick's
shoulders.  "He'd be flattered that you care."

"Flattered or surprised?"

Janette didn't answer, instead kissing him.

Nick instantly pulled back, asking, "Is there anything more?"

"No," Janette said, honestly.  "Nothing yet.  And Nicolas...most of
the others know nothing of this of yet.  It could be nothing...."

"Or it could be the end of us."

Janette went to kiss Nick again, and when he turned away, she rested
her head on his shoulder, where he then held her close.  Nick didn't
resist her, for which she was glad.  Even if he had pulled back she
wouldn't have cared as long as he allowed her to stay.  Even in
silence, his company helped ease her nerves.

*+.*+.*+.*+.*+.

It had taken Nick several weeks to tell Natalie what was happening.
He only managed it after Janette had asked him if he had...and then
asked how his blood supply was doing.  Between realising he would run
out of blood within days and feeling the nervousness of the other
vampires in the Raven on his most recent visits, he knew he couldn't
put it off any longer.  Finally, he told Natalie to come over just
before sunset.

And now that he had told her, the last embers of twilight nearly gone,
he was at a loss of what to say as her attention became unfocused and
drifted away from him.  "Nat?"

Natalie slowly sat down on Nick's couch, having earlier ignored his
suggestion to do so.  Glancing around the room, nothing seemed
missing.  "When, ah, will you be leaving?"

"In a few weeks, a couple of months at most.  It depends on what
happens.  I'll probably leave a couple weeks after Janette leaves,
just in case...ah...."

"In case the Raven has been targeted as a gathering place for
vampires."

Nick nodded.

"Do you know when she'll leave?"

"No.  It might be premature to make a move now.  It also might draw
unneeded attention."

"Nick...."

"Natalie, so far it is still nothing but a few coincidental deaths.
It might not become anything more."

Seeing his point, Natalie slowly nodded her head.  No reason to panic
too much just yet.  She felt uneasy about this, though.  Vampires,
being hunted, perhaps even discovered?  It was literally absurd.  But
Nick was telling her that it might be happening.  "Ah, how much blood
do you have?"

"Not much," he told her, not meeting her eyes.  He was nearly out.  He
had had a glass the previous night and had less than half a bottle
left.

"If you need more, I could probably get some from--"

"No.  Natalie, it--"

"It would draw attention, if someone's checking records.  Yeah, I
know, I just thought if you needed a little, I could maybe go to a
butcher or something?"

"I do appreciate the thought," he told her, managing a slight smile.
"But I do have enough blood.  It's not as much as I would prefer, but
it's enough.  Besides, since meeting you I've gotten better at
tolerating less blood, even none for a short time."

Natalie stared silently at Nick.  He wasn't going to budge.  But if he
thought he had enough, that he could handle it...what could she say?
She wanted to go check how much he had, see for herself that he would
be fine, but that would likely only make Nick tense.  And her, as
well.  Her eyes then caught on a clock.  Nick had to leave for work in
just a few minutes, and she needed to go home to eat and get ready for
work before her shift started in another several hours.  "I guess I
should let you finish getting ready for work.  I didn't expect--"

"I know.  I didn't expect this to happen, either."

Natalie gradually inched backward toward the elevator.  Reluctant to
leave, she told him, "I'll see you later, okay?  Maybe drop by on your
lunch break, if you're not busy?"  She watched him give a quick nod
and realised she was not the only one disbelieving of what was
happening.  Nick didn't want this at all.  From his sluggish
reactions, she suspected he was still in a near state of shock.
Natalie gave Nick a smile, her lips barely turning up at the corners
and her eyes not quite managing to hide her worry, and then she turned
and went to the elevator.  The longer she stayed, the less time Nick
would have to leave for work.

*+.*+.*+.*+.*+.

"Nicolas, do not drink from any of the bottles LaCroix dropped off
last night," Janette said, appearing abruptly at Nick's shortly after
sunset.

Nick paused for a couple of seconds.  Had he heard that correctly?  It
had been nearly two weeks since he had told Natalie what was
happening, but in that time he hadn't heard anything new from either
Janette or LaCroix.

"You haven't had any of it yet, have you?"

Nick slowly stepped toward Janette as he saw her distress multiply.
"No," he answered, slowly shaking his head.  "Why?  Has something
happened?"

"Yes.  The blood had been tampered with.  Poisoned.  LaCroix and a few
others have become quite ill.  Throw it out.  Get rid of it."

Nick froze.  "LaCroix?"

"He will recover."

"And the blood?"

"I have told as many of the young ones as I can to leave the city if
possible and that I have yet to find a new supplier."

"Will you be able to find another?"

Janette didn't want to answer.  She knew it would merely increase both
of their panic if he knew there was no chance to obtain another
supplier, not after the current mess.

"How are they doing this to us, Janette?  And why?"

"I do not know.  And I also do not know how much longer I am going to
keep the Raven open, but it won't be more than a few days."  Janette
turned away.  "How much blood do you have?  LaCroix mentioned it
wasn't much, but he didn't say...."

"Some," Nick quickly replied, glad LaCroix hadn't told Janette any
specifics.  He had run out over a week ago, a few days after he had
told Natalie what was going on.  He had finished it when Janette had
told him of another shipment.  "But it's not enough."

Janette nodded.  "I suspected as much.  We are completely out."
Seeing what she thought was Nick preparing to make an offer, she shook
her head.  "No, Nicolas, neither myself nor LaCroix will accept any of
the little you have.  LaCroix made that very clear.  We will be fine
for the time it will take for us to leave."

"Janette...how much longer will you stay?"

"The Raven will be closed within a week.  LaCroix and I will leave
soon after."  Janette paused, again glancing away.  "When will you
leave?"

"I don't know."

Janette snapped her attention back to Nick.  "It's time, Nicolas.  You
won't be able to stay much longer.  However much you have liked your
life here, you must leave it."

Nick closed his eyes.  "Three weeks, maybe a month.  Maybe less."

"You have enough blood for that?"

Nick first averted his eyes, then turned and walked away from Janette.
He couldn't lie to her.

"You're out, aren't you?"

"Yes," he whispered.

"How long?"

"A week and a half."

Janette half-tensed, a tremor nearly passing through her.  "You won't
make it, Nicolas."

"And I can't leave when you go!  It would be too suspicious if anyone
is watching me.  I can't risk it.  My life is too entwined with the
mortals.  I'll have to wait."

Carefully watching the other, Janette couldn't tell which emotions
were from the hunger and which were from stress.  "How are you doing
so far?"

"I'm fine for now.  I've gone longer than this in the past, you know
that."

"Yes, but in the past you've been well fed before--"

"Janette, I'll--"  Nick stopped, taking in a calming breath.  He
turned back to her and took her hands.  "I'll think of something,
Janette.  I know I'll have to do...something.  But the longer I can
wait, the better.  I'll join you and LaCroix as soon as I can, as soon
as it's safe.  I promise."

Janette smiled, forcibly.  Nick would be fine.  He was resourceful
enough...as long as he didn't break first.

"You'll...come see me before you leave?" he asked, hopeful.

"Yes.  In fact..." Janette started, her smile becoming far more
genuine, then told him, "I have a request...."


Downward Spiral - (02/27)

Several days later and long after the sun rose, Natalie decided to go
by Nick's to see how he was doing.  As she walked slowly out of the
elevator, her eyes quickly adjusted to the darkness and caught on the
couch, where it looked like someone had been sleeping.  A second
later, she felt a hand on her shoulder and then gasped at the touch,
only for a hand to cover her mouth.

"Do not be alarmed," LaCroix said, and then he slowly spun Natalie so
that she was facing him, first lowering his hand and then releasing
her.

"LaCroix," Natalie stated, recognising the voice.

Janette appeared at the balcony for a moment before flying down to
stand next to LaCroix.  "Nicolas is sleeping," she stated.

Natalie, who already suspected that, asked, "Why are you two here?"

"We are leaving," Janette answered.  "I have closed the Raven, and we
needed a place to stay for a couple of days."  Janette then smiled as
warmly as was possible considering her hunger.  She then reached out
her hand and took Natalie's.  "Come, I'm sure you would like to see
Nicolas, and he you."

Natalie, a bit uncomfortable at being led to Nick's bedroom by
Janette, followed the vampiress up the stairs.  Once in his room, she
was surprised that Nick wasn't yet awake...although he did wake as she
approached the bed.  How weak was he to not react until she was in the
room, merely feet from him?

"Nat, what--"

"I had thought I might come over, just to talk, see how you are
doing..." she said, not mentioning Janette or LaCroix, or that she
would rather have left when she found them there and talked to Nick
later that night.

"Tired," Nick stated.  His eyes flashed gold involuntarily, his hunger
spiking for a brief moment.  He closed his eyes and breathed deeply.

"Nick?"

"I'm okay.  Really."

"Have you, ah, heard anything more?"

Nick looked away.  He really didn't want to talk about this.

At the hesitation, Janette told Natalie, "It has merely gotten worse. 
More have died.  And short of live prey, we no longer have a reliable
source of blood."  Seeing Natalie tense, she added, "It is far too
dangerous to hunt even animals, let alone mortals...and certainly not
so close to the city."

Natalie nodded, aware that whether victims ended up alive or dead, no
attention needed to be brought against vampires right now.  Too many
odd deaths just might reveal them, forget that they were being
targeted by some type of hunters.  "Ah, Nick, we can talk later,
perhaps?  I can--" Natalie stopped when Nick's arm darted out, his
fingers gripping her hand.  "Nick..."

He loosened his hold, but didn't release Natalie's hand.  Lightly, he
pulled her gently toward him.  "Stay," he said, pushing back the
covers in front of him.

"But..." Natalie began to protest, her eyes darting in Janette's
direction.  She felt out of place with others also at Nick's.  She
felt as if she was intruding, especially as she could see by how the
comforter lay that Janette had been sleeping in here with Nick before
she had arrived.

"Please, Natalie.  I have no intention to push you away now, not when
I'll be leaving soon."  Nick tugged a bit more on Natalie's hand and
could feel her reluctance.  But he wouldn't give up, not yet.

Natalie glanced again toward Janette and was surprised when she did
not appear disapproving and even more surprised when Janette nodded,
as if telling her she should do as Nick was urging, that it was okay. 
She closed her eyes and let Nick pull her forward, only opening her
eyes as she reached the bed and lay down.

Nick then pulled Natalie closer, so that she was lying right next to
him.  He closed his eyes, telling Natalie softly to relax.  A few
moments later, he felt Janette lie back down on the other side of the
bed, distracting him for a short moment.  Nick then fell asleep, still
listening to Natalie's heartbeat and its calming tones.

Natalie lay awake for nearly half an hour, still uncomfortable with
Janette so close and LaCroix just downstairs.  Janette didn't bother
her much, although she did feel like she was intruding upon something.
But LaCroix...she had never even met him before that night.

*+.*+.*+.*+.*+.

Nick woke mid-afternoon to the sound of Natalie's beating heart.  His
attention fully locked on the sleeping rhythm in an instant, and he
could think of only one thing--blood.

Through a golden haze, his eyes quickly zoomed in on a patch of
visible skin on Natalie's side, where her shirt had inched its way up.
In a second, he had sunk his fangs into the flesh and took the gently
pulsing blood as quickly as possible.

Natalie woke abruptly, gasping in pain.  Outwardly, she panicked even
as a part of her knew that it was Nick who had bitten her.  But that
knowledge did very little to comfort her, particularly given he seemed
to have just acted and didn't even give a hint to her that he
might....

Janette also woke from a combination of Natalie's increased pulse and
her trying to push Nick away.  Her eyes widened upon seeing what Nick
was doing.  She tugged at his arm harshly.  "Nicolas, stop!" she
hissed.  "You must stop.  Natalie--"  She cut off as Nick had abruptly
pulled away from Natalie, seemingly stunned.

As soon as she could, out of instinct Natalie scrambled away.  She got
out of the bed only to stumble, light-headed, as she stood.  Hands
steadied her, at which she pulled away from the touch and glanced back
to find LaCroix.  He continued to hold her up, and she was somewhat
glad, as she doubted she could stand on her own.  She then turned to
face Nick.  He was still changed, her blood on his lips.  Seeing his
mixed expression of horror and fading pleasure, she realised he likely
hadn't intended to bite her.  "Nick?"

Nick tilted his head to the side and forward, closing his eyes.
Despite having taken Natalie's blood, he still craved more.  He wanted
to apologise, but the thought was overwhelmed by his hunger, and he
knew he couldn't dare speak.  What he dearly wanted, all that filled
his thoughts, was to take even more of Natalie's blood.

LaCroix led Natalie back to the bed and gently pressed down on her
shoulders, making her sit.  Then, he turned his focus to Nick and held
out his hand.  "Come, Nicholas."

Opening his eyes, Nick looked to LaCroix.  Fully aware that leaving
the room with LaCroix would likely mean being offered LaCroix' blood,
an offer that he presently would not be capable of refusing, Nick was
torn between leaving and staying.  He glanced to Natalie for a second,
his hunger flaring once again.  If he stayed, his hunger would only
get worse.  Knowing that, he took LaCroix' hand and followed him out
of the room.

Janette slowly walked over to Natalie and turned the mortal's gaze
upward with her hand.  "How do you feel, Natalie?"

Turning toward the door, Natalie barely heard the question.  Nick
seemed so....  "Nick...."

"He will be fine.  LaCroix will see to that."

Feeling a sinking feeling in her stomach, aware Nick would possibly
take LaCroix' blood, Natalie asked, "How long has it been since you've
had blood?"

"Myself?  A week."

"And LaCroix and Nick?"

"Two and a half weeks."

A bit shocked, Natalie whispered, somewhat disbelievingly, "Two and a
half weeks?"

Janette grimly nodded.  "I thought it was only a few days longer than
me, but...."  Janette shivered.  "I do not know how Nicolas lasted
this long."  She paused, and then suggested in a whisper, "He needs to
feed.  We all do, but Nicolas, especially.  Perhaps allow him to
occasionally take a small amount of your blood?  Nicolas does not plan
to stay too much longer, but it would greatly help him.
Maybe...suggest the idea to him?  I doubt he'll bring it up himself,
particularly after tonight."

Natalie, still stunned that Nick had gone so long without blood,
didn't reply, not even with a nod or a shake of her head.

Taking the other's silence as shock, perhaps even refusal, Janette
said, "I know this is a hard decision, and an abrupt one, but it would
help Nick.  He will starve himself if he has to.  He may even refuse,
no matter what you do or offer...."

"I want to, and I will, I'm just rather stunned.  I mean, two and a
half weeks?  And wasn't he restricting the blood before that?  I mean,
I've seen what happens when he goes without blood.  And he was
planning on, what, going weeks more?"

"It's difficult to believe, isn't it?  Even now I am so very
hungry...." Janette said, her voice lowering and eyes burning gold for
a moment.  She looked away and, then, turning back to Natalie, told
her in controlled tones, "We have all had very little blood since this
started.  I will have to wait to feed until after we have left
Toronto.  We all will."

"When are you...ah...."

"A few days.  LaCroix, I worry what--" Janette abruptly cut off, just
as LaCroix entered.  She hadn't sensed him.  "LaCroix, Nicolas--"

"Nicholas will be fine.  He is regaining his focus."

Natalie's eyes flitted toward wounds on LaCroix' wrist.

Noticing, LaCroix told her, "I will be fine, Doctor."  He then glared
at Janette.  "You know that I can tolerate such conditions much better
than you or Nicholas."  He then approached Natalie, his anger rising
when she pulled away from him, her pulse rising.  "Show me the wound,"
he simply ordered.

"Ah, wh--"

LaCroix flew the short distance to her, grabbing her from behind.  He
exposed where Nick had bitten her, the blood starting to dry and
obscure the actual wound.

"LaCroix!" Janette roughly whispered, shocked, as it looked like
LaCroix was going to bite her.

Natalie was momentarily frozen, feeling LaCroix' hands on her skin,
his lips brushing her skin near where Nick had bitten her.  She closed
her eyes, fearing pain, but she only felt him lick the blood away.
The touch was still far too personal, as Nick had bitten her high on
her side.

"What--" Janette started, but then cut off, as LaCroix pulled away and
released Natalie.

LaCroix then examined the now clean bite marks again, still holding
Natalie in place, even as she pushed against him.  He abruptly
released her once he had finished, the few drops of Natalie's blood
almost too much temptation given that Nick had just fed from him.
"You should be fine," he simply said, and then, telling them, "You
should both sleep," he left.

Still a bit taken aback at LaCroix' action, Natalie turned to Janette
while holding her shirt down and firmly against her.

"Natalie?"

"I'm okay.  Just, LaCroix, he--"

"He can be rather abrupt."  She walked over to Natalie and took one of
her hands.  The skin was so warm and tempting, but her hunger had
calmed with the shocks of the last few moments.  "LaCroix is right.
We should rest.  You, to regain your strength, and I, to conserve
mine."

Natalie nodded.  She hated this.  It's like events were being pushed
so that there was only one possibility.  She felt like her life was
being manipulated and couldn't imagine how Janette, Nick and LaCroix
felt right now.  Natalie allowed Janette to ease her back under the
covers, and this time it was barely a moment before she was asleep.

*+.*+.*+.*+.*+.

Nearly a week later, Natalie told Nick she was going to drop by after
work.  Between Nick biting her and then LaCroix allowing Nick to take
some of his blood, Nick had seemed almost normal.  But she knew he
would need more blood soon, and she had remembered Janette's request
and her promise.  It wasn't hard to keep the promise, as she had
already considered suggesting it to him.  In fact, if she had known he
was out of blood, she would have offered her blood to him before he
had taken it.

She entered the loft cautiously, letting Nick buzz her up.  After Nick
silently pulled the door open for her, she stepped inside and turned
to face Nick.  She then watched him take a half dozen steps inside
before turning back to face her, which merely became the beginning of
a long and awkward silence.  She didn't know how to do this, how best
to bring the topic up, but eventually asked, "Did, ah, Janette and
LaCroix leave okay?"

"Yeah.  Yeah, they left.  They're going to try and find somewhere safe
for the time being."

"Have you heard anything more?"

"Before LaCroix left, he mentioned there was a slight upsurge of
deaths.  He seemed a bit grimmer than usual, but no, nothing new.
Nothing pointing to who is doing this or why, and nothing pointing at
who is most at risk.  Nothing," Nick said, his frustration creeping
in.

"H-how are you doing?" she asked, taking a tentative step toward Nick.
"It's been a week since you fed."

Nick tensed and shut his eyes.  "I'm getting hungry."

"Take my blood, Nick."

"Nat, I--"

"Nick, you need to have something, yes?  And the longer you wait...."

"The more I'll need, the more I'll want...."

"You could take some of my blood right now, without hurting me, yes?" 
She saw him ready to protest, and she added, "Don't think; just
answer.  My blood will help you, yes?  Nick?"

"Yes," he said, his eyes shifting to gold.  He then looked away.

Natalie gradually approached, lessening the distance between them
until she stood directly in front of Nick, just out of his reach.

Nick turned his attention to Natalie, his golden eyes meeting hers for
a split second before they shifted down to her neck.  He reached out
with one hand, his fingers brushing against her neck.  "I...can't."

"Nick?"

"Not on the neck.  Not on the wrist.  It would be too...visible if
someone was looking."

"You don't have to ask.  I don't mind.  Wherever you want to...."

Nick's eyes drifted downward, to where he had bitten her before.  And
then his eyes drifted up and his hands slid down to the buttons on
Natalie's shirt.  He paused, and after Natalie nodded, he started
undoing the buttons until most of her shirt was undone.  Carefully
pushing her shirt to one side, not allowing his fingers to touch her
skin, he then slowly pushed her left bra strap down off her shoulder. 
Another slight pause, and then he struck, biting into the flesh just
down from her arm and shoulder.

What seemed like a mere few seconds later, Natalie gasped as Nick
released her.  She could barely believe he had taken enough of her
blood.  And yet, she did feel dizzy and she zoned out for a moment,
coming back when she felt Nick's lips brush along her skin from where
he bit her and up to her neck.

Nick breathed in the scent of Natalie's hair, trying to focus on
something other than the scent and taste of her blood.  He held her
close for a moment, then suddenly picked her up and carried her over
to the couch, sitting down while still holding her against him.

They remained that way for a quarter of an hour, at which Nick
whispered, "I took more than I meant, than I wanted."

Natalie sat up slightly, taking her head off Nick's shoulder.  How
could he say he took more than he wanted?  "Nick, you took just as
much as you wanted, needed.  I feel fine.  Well, I feel a little
light-headed, but that's to be expected."

Not replying, Nick's hand shifted back to the fresh wound.  He
carefully touched the skin, then shifted his fingers down slowly just
to the top of Natalie's bra.  He closed his eyes, his fingers dropping
away, and then he reached his hand down and around to Natalie's back,
pulling her toward him.

A few minutes later, Nick found himself listening to Natalie's slow
and steady heart and her equally slow breathing.  She was asleep.  He
closed his eyes and let his fingers lightly slide along her back.  He
knew this would not be the last time he took her blood before he left.


Downward Spiral - (03/27)

Arriving at Nick's, Natalie pushed open the elevator door and slowly
approached the couch, where Nick was staring at the blank TV, remote
in hand.  He had clearly seen the statement shown that morning, which
divulged the existence of vampires.  Stopping, she prodded, "Nick?"

"I suppose we knew this would happen sooner or later, didn't we?"

Natalie, surprised that Nick seemed utterly stunned, almost as if he
had no idea this was coming, carefully asked, "You didn't know this
was close?  I mean, you knew something was up, but you didn't know--"

Nick shook his head.  "I had no idea.  It just seemed like we were
being killed.  Until this....  I mean there was the possibility of
something like this happening, but...."  Again Nick shook his head,
closing his eyes.

"Nothing, not even from LaCroix or Janette?"

"I'm completely cut off, Natalie.  I don't even know where they are
right now."

Slowly, Natalie stepped closer, and then cautiously sat down next to
Nick.  She didn't sit back until Nick pulled her backward by her
shoulders.  Now leaning against Nick, Natalie closed her eyes and
tried to calm herself for Nick's sake.

"This, it changes things," Nick began, wondering how Natalie would
take his decision.  "I won't be leaving yet.  It would be too
suspicious."

Natalie remained quiet.  Nick would have to stay longer, of course.
On the plus side, it meant she wouldn't be saying goodbye to him quite
yet.  On the other, it meant there was more time for Nick to be
discovered, or worse, killed.

"Nat, it'll probably be a few weeks longer.  If I have to, I'll leave
before that, but...."  Nick paused, unsure he wanted to be more
specific, given Natalie's silence.  "Natalie?"

"It's okay, Nick.  As long as you're here, you can take my blood
whenever you need to.  You already know that."

Nick pulled away slightly, forcing Natalie to sit up.  "No, it's not
okay.  I hate doing this too you.  You're far more than...."  He
stopped before finishing.  He couldn't say it.

"Nick, I know.  But I don't mind.  I can't just watch you starve
yourself.  And I won't.  Now, more than even before, you need to keep
attention away from you.  And that means you have to feed, and
discretely."  Natalie sat silently for a moment.  Nick, too, was
quiet, and she commented, "I see you turned it off."

Nick fiddled with the remote, but didn't touch any of the buttons.
"Yeah.  I got tired of the repetition.  That yes, vampires exist,
they're deemed dangerous and that they will be found and killed.  And
little else."

"They, ah, moved on after about an hour.  It's why I came."

First, Nick tensed.  Then, he hesitantly flipped the TV back on.

"...are killers?" a newscaster asked.

Then, a man with the subheading of Agent Carl Stephenson, IVEA, spoke,
"Yes.  If you looked at the background file of a vampire, or better
yet several files on different vampires, you'd notice a common thread
of wanted for murder and related notes dotted throughout their lives."

"By murder, you mean killing for blood?"

"Partly.  But they often kill without reason.  Sometimes they won't
even bother with a victim's blood.  Vampires are ruthless,
nonsensical, inhuman creatures that--"

Nick hit the mute button.  He had heard plenty out of this idiot, and
it wasn't much different than the informational statement that had
been on earlier.  But now they were trying to give examples.  "What
has come up?"

"Well, they are an international group.  Uh, I think IVEA actually
stands for International Vampire Elimination Agency.  Can't blame them
for not throwing that around too much.  They seem to have the full
cooperation of most--if not all--major world governments.  Their end
goal seems to be to kill all vampires.  No exceptions.  And they have
made it very clear that they have approval to do so.  I haven't seen
much mention of how they're working with present government agencies,
but there hasn't been any dispute that they're stepping out of
bounds."  Natalie paused, then continued, "They, ah, announced several
that have died...mortal name and birth info, current name, age, when
they were brought over, by whom....  It's stunning how much they seem
to know."

"How many?"

"A round dozen.  It's a bit fishy, isn't it?"

Nick almost answered, but a graphic popped up on screen that caught
his attention.   Nick turned the sound back on.

"...blood to survive.  They cannot eat mortal food, let alone live off
of it.  Second comes their susceptibility to sunlight and ultraviolet
light.  This can kill them, but they are also very resourceful.
Similar to their sensitivity to UV light sources, fire can also kill. 
Third comes the ever-mentioned ways of killing a vampire: stakes and
decapitation. Decapitation is best, as it is more permanent and
immediate, but a stake will do just as well a--"

Muting the TV again, Nick read off the remaining items on the list,
"Holy objects, garlic, mirrors."

"Yeah, they've done their research.  They know what will and will not
affect you, and Nick, they know specifics."

"How specific?"

"Precise reactions.  They know how much you'll react to what.  They've
even stated that they have several drugs that will take a vampire out
for hours, Nick.  Or make you sick, like the tainted blood you
mentioned...."

Nick sat, silent, for several minutes.  The only way they could have
gotten that information was through testing, and more likely than not
the test subjects had been very unwilling.  And then, after they were
tortured, they had been undoubtedly killed.

When Nick turned the volume back on, the agent said, "...any person
that exhibits such aversions, please contact us or local authorities. 
We will carefully and thoroughly investigate all those under
suspicion.  These are dangerous creatures of instinct that could kill
at any time-- with or without warning."

As another graphic covered the whole screen with contact info--several
phone numbers and an email address--Nick flipped the TV back off.
They didn't give a mailing address, no doubt not wanting their
headquarters announced so blatantly to his kind.

"They seem to be trying to...frighten, almost," Natalie commented.
"Frighten mortals into fearing your kind, and fearing vampires into
fleeing."

"Fleeing and revealing more of us to them."

"Or frighten your kind into staying put, making better targets...."

"Yes."

Natalie swallowed and slowly prodded, "Do you think perhaps you should
leave?"

"No.  No, I'm too...suspicious as it is.  If I stay, at least for now,
perhaps that will make some people think twice about what I might be,
given today, given this...."

Sitting, watching Nick, Natalie could see his fear and nervousness
building.  He wanted to leave, but then he would likely immediately be
targeted.  If he stayed, he would be endangering his life.  And they
both knew it.  Slowly, she reached forward with her hand, stopping
just before resting the back of her hand against his cheek.  She
waited until he closed his eyes, which she hoped was an indication the
action would be okay.

Allowing the touch, Nick let a faint hint of pleasure reach his lips,
almost allowing a smile to form.  He leaned back and wished this was
all there was, wishing that the last many weeks were just some
nightmare that he couldn't wake from....

*+.*+.*+.*+.*+.

Ever since he had arrived at work that night, Nick felt eyes staring
at him.  He had expected it, given that his sun sensitivity was widely
known.  His arrest earlier that year and the discovery of cow's blood
in his refrigerator probably did nothing to alleviate the fears and
curiosities of his co-workers.  The blood had, at least, not been
human blood.  That was one thing the announcement had gotten wrong--
that all vampires survived exclusively off human blood--but perhaps it
was just part of this group's tactics to scare the public at large?

Schanke had been periodically staring straight at him, possibly
stunned at what he had seen and realising how much his partner sounded
like a vampire.  About to say something to Schanke, Nick's eyes darted
upward when his partner stood.

"How about we get out of here for a bit?" Schanke suggested.  "It's
not too late.  We could, ah, go talk to Mrs. Grier about her son?"

Fully aware they had already done that, Nick went to protest.

"Or," Schanke began in a hushed whisper, "Just drive a round?  It's a
bit tense in here for some reason."

After a few seconds, Nick nodded and stood, following the other out.

Schanke's attention drifted repeatedly between the passing cars and
streets and then Nick.  Finally, after nearly ten minutes, he blurted
out, "Are you a vampire?"

Nick didn't swerve in the slighted, having expected Schanke to ask him
that precise question.  But he still hadn't decided what he would say
in reply.

"I mean, the sun allergy or whatever, your thing with garlic, I've
never seen you really eat anything..." Schanke started off, and then
asked again, "So, are you?"

Nick glanced to the side, wondering what his partner was thinking.
"Why?"

"Just curious."

"And if I am?"

"Fine either way.  I mean, you're my partner and we've worked together
long enough that I know you're a good guy, whether you're a vampire or
not.  And I don't care what crock they're saying, that all vampires
are killers....  That is, if you're a vampire.  I mean, if you're not,
then this is all...."

Nick made a random right turn, not answering.  He didn't like Schanke
finding out what he was like this.

"You are, aren't you?" Schanke said, the words calm and almost a
statement.

"Yes."

They drove silently for several minutes before Schanke asked, "So
you're seriously going to stay and work?  Isn't that, well,
dangerous?"

"Yes, it's dangerous.  But if I leave...."

"You'll be branded a vampire then and there."

Nick nodded.  "I'll be here for a few weeks, maybe a month."  Nick
paused, then added, "Unless I'm discovered; then I'll have to leave
immediately.  Whatever the case I will be leaving, and probably
without much notice."

"Does, ah, does Natalie....  She's known what you are for a while,
hasn't she?"

"Yes."

"How long?"

Nick glanced to his partner before bracing himself for what he was
going to say.  "She knew what I was before she knew my name.  I was a
patient that didn't stay dead."

Schanke looked out the window, noticing Nick had driven toward the
Raven.  Passing the club, Schanke looked back, noticing it looked like
it had been closed.  He had noticed that before, actually, but hadn't
asked Nick about it.  Now knowing what Nick was, things sort of
started clicking.  "Ah--" Schanke started but cut off, a bit of shock
glistening in his eyes.

"The Raven was a safe haven for us."

"You've known this might be coming, didn't you?"

"Somewhat.  This...agency has been killing vampires for a couple of
months.  Hunting us, executing us.  They've been trying to weed us out
by destroying our blood supply, by using fear."

"A couple of months?" Schanke repeated.  Then, aware Janette had owned
the Raven, he asked, "So, uh, Janette, is she a, ah...." he trailed
off seeing Nick tense.  He didn't really have to ask, did he?  If Nick
was a vampire, then Janette definitely was.  "Is there anything I can
do?"

"No.  No, just...don't draw attention to what I am.  Don't try to
avert attention, either."

"So just do nothing?"

"Pretend you don't know, Schanke.  It's the safest thing to do."

Schanke's jaw opened to reply, but he realised he had nothing to say. 
Safest?  Safest for who?  For Nick, or for himself?

"We should head back," Nick abruptly said, turning the Caddy in the
general direction of the precinct.

"Why?" Schanke immediately asked.  When Nick didn't say anything,
Schanke realised what it was.  "Oh, the briefing thing...."  Schanke
paused, noticing his partner tensing.  "So, is their info on vampires
accurate?  On your abilities and--"

"Susceptibilities?"

Schanke swallowed.  He didn't like the word, nor the stiff tone Nick
said it with.  But neither did he blame his partner.  "Yeah.  I
suppose you could say that."

"Let's just say they've had plenty of time to prepare their statements
and have more than enough confidence to announce it."

Slowly, Schanke nodded.  This organization had, after all, gained and
then provided sufficient enough information and details to get the go
ahead to search out vampires with the intention of killing them.  And
he knew what that meant--with that research, these people knew what
they were dealing with, and the information given in the news was
likely quite accurate.


Downward Spiral - (04/27)

Natalie walked from the elevator over to where Nick sat on the couch,
his eyes closed.  It was almost like he didn't hear her come in.
Perhaps he was even asleep, but she doubted it.  Since the
announcement several days ago, Nick had visibly started to become
withdrawn and overly tired.

When Nick finally opened his eyes to look at Natalie, he languidly
commented, "I wasn't expecting to see you this morning."

"I thought I should come over."  Natalie then set down a tote bag she
had brought with her and, leaning over for a moment, she pulled out
several notebooks and various-sized files and put them on the coffee
table.  "I thought you should have these.  Either to store away
somewhere or...ah, to be destroyed.  I nearly did the latter myself,
but thought you might like to keep them...."  She watched Nick smile
back at her, although he only seemed half-interested.  Even with his
subdued mood, it was clear that he was pleased that she had decided to
let him choose what to do with her research.

"You're here for more."

Natalie stepped closer.  "Yes."

Nick averted his gaze sideways.  "I don't need your blood.  Not
today."

"Nick, you didn't take much last time.  I can see it in you; you're
tired, weaker than even before..." she trailed off, watching Nick drop
his head down.  "I know you don't like taking my blood like this.  But
you need to.  Your only other choice is to leave."

"Which would not be wise right now," Nick whispered.  He closed his
eyes again, knowing Natalie was right.  But then he commented, looking
at her, "It's only been four days, Nat."

"And how many more days are you going to be here, Nick?  Twenty, maybe
thirty?"

Again, Nick half-smiled.  "I haven't asked you this before, but is
there anything I can do to repay you?  And don't say nothing.  The
last several weeks have changed things, greatly."

Natalie knew she could ask for anything.  But there was very little
she really wanted.  That, and she suspected any monetary payment
could, possibly, link her to Nick if he was found in the future--
something she knew he wouldn't want.  "Just let me know before you
leave, if you can.  And maybe keep in touch, again, if you can."
Pausing a moment and then approaching and sitting on the couch next to
Nick, she then said, "And for you to take whatever blood you want or
need.  No more hesitation."

Nick closed his eyes for a moment, and when he opened them, they
glowed gold.  "You're right," he said.  "I do need blood."  Slowly,
Nick shifted and reached toward Natalie's jacket, pushing it out of
the way.  He then untucked Natalie's shirt and unbuttoned the bottom
few buttons.  He nearly glanced up at her, but remembering her
insistence on not hesitating instead bent over, biting her on the side
just below her waist.

Neither was paying much attention to anything else, not to the
elevator as it started up, nor to Schanke as he pushed the door open
and approached.

Natalie caught a glimpse of Schanke, her eyes widening seeing his
shocked expression.  Right at that moment, just as she was about to
say something, Nick bit harder, causing her eyes to close and her try
and focus entirely on not vocalising her pain.

Taking all he needed, Nick stopped and then spun upon realising there
was another heartbeat behind him.  Schanke.  He had expected his
partner to visit, but had figured there would be enough time, that he
would notice the other arriving....  Natalie was right; he had become
too weak.

"N-Nick...?" Schanke started, not sure what to say.  Nick didn't look
any different, but he could see the tinge of blood on his lips before
Nick wiped it away.  "What, ah, this, what...."

Nick went to pull away from Natalie.  She, however, did not allow him
to, wrapping her fingers around Nick's wrist before he could get very
far.  She then turned to Schanke and explained, "Nick's been taking my
blood."

"W-why?" Schanke stuttered, not sure if he should approach or step
back.

"It's been some time since I've been able to get blood safely.
Feeding from Natalie has been the safest option."

Seeing Schanke's continued disbelief, Natalie added, "I offered,
Schanke.  Nick didn't ask.  It's my choice."

Still unable to speak, Schanke first settled for taking a few gradual
steps closer to his partner and Natalie.  "Ah, I saw another news
thing this morning."

Nick tensed, pulling away from Natalie.  "More deaths?"

"Yeah.  Yeah, they put up things for another twenty, ah, six or so.
What, that makes thirty-eight now?"  He fidgeted in place.  "How much
of an impact is this having?  I mean, is that a lot, or...?"

"Far more than thirty-eight have died, Schanke.  Thirty-eight is just
what they've announced.  There were rumours of dozens of deaths long
before this was ever made public."

"So how many--"

"I don't know," Nick answered, a bit roughly.

"Nick hasn't had contact with others since before the announcement."
Natalie pursed her lips and told Schanke to sit down.  Then, she
asked, "What else was mentioned?  Was it on this morning?"

"Yeah, yeah, this morning, less than an hour ago," Schanke said,
inching closer and sitting in the recliner.

Natalie leaned forward and picked the remote up off the table, pointed
it at one of the shuttered windows, and hit a button, opening one of
the windows.

Schanke's attention drifted between the sunlight pouring in and Nick,
who had looked away from the bright light at first, and still seemed
uncomfortable after a couple of minutes.  "They were interviewing one
of the agents," Schanke said.  "And, well, some interesting questions
were asked, and some rather messed up answers, or...I don't know."  He
took in a deep breath and stated, "When asked about how vampires are
different, commenting that they look just like humans, the agent said
something like they might be able to blend in, but that there's always
an agenda and that it always involves blood and death."

"And?" Nick asked.

"Well, you are a homicide detective.  I mean, you, ah...."

"Schanke, there's little truth in it," Natalie explained.  "Nick's a
cop because he genuinely wants to help people."

"And others?  I mean, what are other vampires like?"

Natalie turned toward Nick, who was looking in Schanke's general
direction but not meeting his eyes.

"We're all different," he told Schanke.  "Some are...somewhat like
myself.  Some of us don't kill for blood or will only do so if
necessary.  Some are probably as ruthless--if not more so--than is
described.  Just like mortals range from saints to serial killers,
vampires are neither all evil nor all good.  We're not that different
from humans.  Killing and drinking blood is not all there is to us."

"So, ah, they've been giving bios on those they've...well, anyway, it
makes me a bit curious how old you are and where you're from and...."

Nick looked away.

Natalie saw this, but this time didn't answer.  Nick was the only one
that could decide whether to divulge this information or keep it to
himself.

Looking back to Schanke, Nick said, "I'm older than any of those
listed on the first...group."  He could see Schanke's disappointment
at the vague answer.  "I think it's better if you don't know, Schanke.
Same with where I'm originally from."

"So, with your kind being killed, have any...."

"Have I known any of them?" Nick asked.  Receiving a nod, he shook his
head.  "No, not that I'm aware.  No one close.  I haven't seen who
they've announced this morning, though."

Schanke slowly nodded.  He hadn't really expected Nick to know anyone,
but it just seemed like this was hitting his partner harder than it
should.  But then, he didn't really know or understand all of what was
happening.  "Do you think they're targeting just those that are...I
don't know, particularly evil?"

Nick immediately shook his head.  "No.  No, what they've said about
our backgrounds...it's unfortunately true, particularly for vampires
that have been around for more than a couple hundred years.  It's
difficult to not, at some point, end up on a 'wanted' list of some
kind.  And I have killed, Schanke.  I won't deny that.  But until
recently, realise that it was virtually impossible for any vampire not
to have to kill to survive.  I can't, off-hand, name a vampire who has
not killed for blood at least once.  Corner us, threaten us, starve
us...and we will kill before we let ourselves be killed."

"Do vampires kill...indiscriminately?"

"Not...usually," Nick quickly replied.  Sensing the answer would not
be enough, he explained, "We typically only kill for blood,
survival...or perhaps if our mortal culture deems such killing as
appropriate or we are sufficiently angered or taunted.  There are, of
course, exceptions, just as there are with mortals.  Those that step
the lines, those that endanger what we are...in the past they have
been killed."

"In the past?"

"Before the existence of vampires was made public.  It's more
complicated now."

Schanke nodded his head very slowly, thinking.  Food, survival,
inherent belief system and purposely being taunted...all were real
reasons and not the 'because they're vampires' junk that he had been
listening to on TV which only succeeded in muddling and confusing his
thoughts.  "And killing for blood, is that typical?"

"In this time, this century?  No.  It is too dangerous.  Most of us
survive off bottled blood, much of which is donated in some form or
another.  Bottled blood is also a far more reliable source."  Nick
stopped, looking away.  "Or, normally it is.  The first thing they did
was cripple our blood supply in their attempt to push us out."

Schanke relaxed, greatly.  Yes, vampires killed, but by Nick, they
mostly only did so when necessary, probably not even regularly.  They
were real people, too.  They had feelings and you could have rational
conversations with them.  Then why did he feel so nervous?  Why did
the descriptions on the news get to him so much?

*+.*+.*+.*+.*+.

After a week and three more major announcements, any new information
on vampires had now settled into the opening remarks for most news
broadcasts, with the occasional special on the larger full-time news
channels.

To think that interest was waning, however, would have been very
wrong.  As Agent Carl Stephenson's voice overlaid the death bios,
reading off names, ages and other information, most viewers listened
either in a state of shock, rejoice, applaud, fright or offence...or
just ignored it.  All were, however, stunned as the number of
announced deaths quickly reached both one hundred and then one hundred
and fifty.

Images of unsuspecting vampires flashed up, but a pattern was now
clearly emerging.  All were men and women--mostly men--looking
anywhere from twenty to fifty with given ages between one hundred and
five and four hundred and fifty.  No younger, inexperienced vampires
popped up in the lists.  Nor did any older vampires.

The public was becoming curious; so far all vampires mentioned had
been killed.  While descriptions had been made of vampires, no one had
had the chance to see a live vampire.  Some were asking for proof of
recent events to prove the truth in the ruthlessness of vampires.
Some wanted to know how they were being killed.  Others wanted to know
who was being suspected.  Whatever the demand, no answers were
forthcoming.

And it had taken little time for the IVEA to then highlight a list of
recent crimes--from the last twenty-five years--committed by the
various vampires that had been killed.  The shift in mood of most of
the mortals watching had then quickly shifted more toward approval and
indifference.

When asked where the IVEA was directing it's attention and energy, the
answer was vague, merely stating, "We are focusing on key
organisations and infrastructures within major and vital cities and
towns."

*+.*+.*+.*+.*+.

The IVEA's latest statement drifted among Nick's thoughts nearly
nightly.  The last--the IVEA's current focus--especially preoccupied
him.

Worse, over the following several days various kinds of free food had
been provided by the IVEA, supposedly for their cooperation.  And,
although curiosity and slight confusion was felt throughout the
precinct, very few declined the offer of food.  Nick was one of the
few.

As several days passed, he started to wonder if this was some kind of
test.  The police force would certainly be considered a key
organisation or infrastructure in the city, and it would only make
sense for them to want to ensure that all officers were, indeed,
mortal.  And what better way to give a test than discretely and
without their knowledge?

Nick had considered taking the offer of food, but it all seemed so
very innocent....  It was mostly snacks--cookies, fudge, small
sandwiches and the like, nothing seemed specifically anti-vampire.  So
what was the point?  Was it just to see who took the food and who
didn't?

It didn't help that most who took the food the first couple of days,
Schanke included, for some reason didn't want anymore.  Most had
mentioned a lack of hunger.  Perhaps there was something in the food
to suppress hunger and prevent only a few taking all the food?  After
all, if they wanted to give everybody the chance....

Eventually, mid-shift one night, Nick told Schanke to get him a few
cookies.  Schanke had obliged, he himself going for a different and
far more appealing source of free food--donuts brought in by another
detective.

When Schanke brought him the cookies--two chocolate chip, one peanut
butter and one oatmeal--Nick felt a slight lulling in the precinct.
He knew some of the others had mild suspicions of what he was,
something he had done his best to ignore so that it would hopefully
make him appear as unsuspecting of the thoughts as possible.  Having
the food put in front of him, Nick fought back his instinctual
aversion.

The first bite was the worst, the odd texture and taste being one of
the most repulsive things he had ever tasted.  The second and
thereafter, however, were not as bad.

When he finished two whole cookies and only had two left, Nick
realised it was a result of his hunger.  He felt it, lurking just
below the surface.  He had had so little blood over recent weeks--just
enough to feel strong enough to work and, if needed, flee--that his
body almost didn't care that mortal food was being forced into it.
Almost.  As he finished the third cookie, Nick could, however, feel
his nausea beginning to rise and knew the cookies would not be staying
down.  But so far, so good.

Nick then ate the fourth and last cookie.  He had decided he had done
quite well when the nausea suddenly turned from slight to something
more closely resembling pain.  Nick sat back, leaning his head
backward and closing his eyes.  He felt far worse than he should have.
Yes, he now knew, this was some kind of test.

Minutes later, Nick startled as Cohen told them they were being
dispatched to a crime scene.  Nick didn't care where they were going;
other than knowing they had a case, he didn't hear a word Cohen said,
actually.  All he wanted was out of that room.

Without a word, Nick went to the Caddy and started the ignition.  As
soon as Schanke had shut the passenger side door, he pulled
arbitrarily out of the precinct parking lot.  He hadn't actually heard
the address, nor did he care what it was just that moment.  A few
blocks away, he made a wrong turn, drawing Schanke's attention.

When Schanke poked at his arm, pointing to the left, Nick sent a
golden glare at his partner.  He had no intention of changing
direction, not yet.

Never having seen Nick's eyes like this before, Schanke flinched
slightly.  But the change was plenty enough for him to ask, "Nick,
what's wrong?"  Getting no answer, he more simply and cautiously
prodded, "Are you okay?"

"No," Nick forced.  A few blocks later at a pizza place, Nick pulled
into the parking lot and darted inside.  While not his first choice,
his nausea had increased to something more.  Even the tinge of garlic
in the air barely bothered him as he entered the building.

Schanke quickly followed, stopping only when Nick vanished into the
restroom.  He hesitated before following, getting the distinct
impression that something was very wrong but unsure if he should say
anything or not.  For several minutes, Schanke was torn between
staying and waiting outside as, from the sound of it, Nick lost both
the cookies and a fair bit of blood.

Once Nick seemed better, calmer, Schanke asked, "Nick, you okay?"  His
partner didn't answer, instead moving from the stall to the sinks, not
looking at him.  Schanke took a step closer, his eyes catching on the
drops of blood--Nick's blood--clinging to the other's lips.  It was
just a moment, and then Nick had wiped the thick scarlet drops away.
But the other still hadn't looked at him and had made no note of his
presence.  "Nick?"  Then, next thing he knew he was being pushed up
against the wall, his partner's golden eyes staring hungrily at him.

Nick snarled at Schanke, fangs fully visible, and his head turning
slightly sideways as he tried to hold back.  He shut his eyes at the
sudden hunger he now felt, even as his nausea continued.

"Those things were drugged, weren't they?" Schanke asked, his initial
fear fading somewhat.  "Nick, what do--"

"I'm so very, very hungry..." Nick slowly said, half in answer and
half in statement.

"You need blood," Schanke whispered, relaxing as Nick's hold loosened,
the other's hands dropping away.

"Yes..." Nick said in a low his, fangs still visible.

Aware that Nick could not go to the crime scene like this, Schanke
asked, his voice hinting at being both calm and nervous, "Tell me how
I can help you, Nick."

Nick shook his head.  He didn't want to do this, but at the same time
he forced himself to try and focus, knowing he had to.

"Come on, Nick.  What do you need me to do?"

Reopening his eyes, Nick commanded, "Take off your jacket."

Schanke felt a hint of weak persuasion with the words.  "And then
what?" he asked, doing as Nick said and pulling his arms out of his
jacket.

"Roll up your sleeve."

Schanke did so, quickly rolling up his left sleeve.  As soon as that
was done, Nick then shifted the few feet to arrive at Schanke's side,
practically vanishing for a second.  A bit surprised at the quick
action, Schanke abruptly felt his shoulder protest when Nick took his
arm.  Then he felt sharp pricks of pain as Nick bit him just above his
wrist.

Nick pulled his partner's blood for over a minute, taking the blood as
slow as he could considering his great want for it.

Schanke instinctively pulled away as soon as Nick released his arm.
He closed his eyes, the bite wound almost hurting more now than while
Nick was drinking his blood.  So, this was what it felt like to be bit
by a vampire.  And here he was, still very alive.  Looking to his
partner, Schanke watched as Nick stood with his eyes closed, clearly
trying to regain his focus and strength.

Schanke went to the sink and cleaned his arm off, a bit surprised that
the wounds weren't bleeding much at all.  Nick slid off while he was
unrolling his shirtsleeve and rebuttoning the cuff.  Slipping his
jacket back on, Schanke headed after Nick, having to grab hold of the
doorframe turning the corner out of the restroom as a wave of
dizziness hit him.

Arriving back at the Caddy, Schanke got in and eyed his partner.  Nick
looked a bit paler than his usual of late, and it showed in his
features.  "Are you going to be okay?  I mean, with the crime scene,
considering...."

"I'll have to be, won't I?" Nick said, his voice slightly more normal
than before, but still audibly strained.  Realising he didn't come off
reassuring by Schanke's nervous glance over at him, he added, "I'll be
fine."

Several minutes after Nick had started the Caddy and they were headed
to the scene, Schanke cautiously prodded, curious, "Uh, should I ask
what, ah, my blood tasted like?"

"Uniquely...Schanke," Nick replied, his tone light.  Then, focusing on
the faint remnants of thoughts that hadn't been crushed by his nausea,
Nick added, quietly, "And like that of a very loyal friend."

Schanke tensed at the last, somewhat surprised by the comment.  But
loyal, yeah, that fit he supposed.  But where had Nick picked that up
from, and how?


Downward Spiral - (05/27)

For the last several weeks, Nick had often spent the short time he
had after work and before the dawn driving.  And he knew now that it
was time to leave.

True, no one seemed to have noticed his bad reaction to the cookies.
The free food had gone a few days after that, at which a few of the
other detectives mentioned having to be interviewed and then tested
with distaste.  He, apparently, wasn't under suspicion.  And that was
what he had wanted and needed.

He had decided he would stay until the end of the week, and then he
would go, hopefully without much notice.  He just had to tell Natalie,
discretely hand in his resignation to Cohen, and vanish.

Since even before the announcement, he had slowly cleared out his home
of his things, knowing he would be leaving before too long.  All that
was left was impersonal belongings...things he didn't care whether he
kept or not, mostly furniture and a few paintings he didn't
particularly want.  And the piano.  He hadn't yet had the chance to
get it moved out, but then the instrument had turned out to be a
pleasant way to spend the day, as he often found he couldn't sleep.

Arriving home just as the sun rose, Nick noticed Natalie's car
outside.  How long had she been waiting for him?  The previous night,
after he had taken more of her blood, he had told her to not visit for
a few days at the least.  But then, Natalie had been concerned about
him; had he really expected that she would do as asked?

Nick quickly pulled the Caddy into the garage and then headed upstairs
via the elevator.  In a way, he was glad Natalie had come.  She
wouldn't have to wait to know his decision, and he would have more
time to spend with her.

The instant he pulled the elevator door to the side, however, Nick
froze.  The scent of blood filled his senses.  It didn't take more
than a quick glance to see that Natalie was lying on the ground,
completely still.

"Natalie..." Nick whispered as he flew to her.  Coming to a stop, he
immediately kneeled next to her.  Natalie's heart was still as she lay
in her own blood, her left hand having slid back, smearing the blood
on the floor, her throat deeply slit.  She was dead.

Nick's eyes drifted to the blood on the floor.  Despite the freshness,
he wasn't the slightest bit hungry and had no desire for any of it.
But he had to know something about what had happened, anything, and so
he reached his hand down, letting his fingers touch the moist liquid.

Slowly, Nick brought his fingers toward his lips, but hesitated.  Even
though he had tasted Natalie's blood many times, he feared this time. 
He closed his eyes and licked the blood off, focusing as much as he
could.

He felt her fear as she realised she was not alone.  She had
struggled.  Then she had been killed, her throat slashed.  Then all he
tasted was the still tinge of death.

Nick opened his eyes.  Natalie's death had at least been relatively
quick.  But it was so very senseless.  What had Natalie done to
deserve this?  But he knew--she had befriended him.

Standing, Nick noticed where Natalie had tried to stop her attacker--
likely a mortal--from reaching her.  But the blood....  The blood had
been drained after she was killed.  But...why?

And then Nick sensed it; there was a heartbeat nearby.  In fact, he
had sensed it even when he came in, but finding Natalie dead had taken
his full attention.  He had then forgotten about the sound, thinking
at first it had been Natalie, or perhaps even his imagination.

Nick turned toward the heartbeat, catching a glimpse of a man in the
shadows.  They had planned this.  Natalie wasn't even the target--he
was.  And it was after dawn, the sun getting warmer by the minute.

A bullet ripped into his shoulder.  He nearly darted toward the man,
but the sharp pain told him this was no ordinary bullet.  It hadn't
passed through him, for one, and by the faint burning sensation he
suspected it was largely wood.  Add the tingling numbness he felt
coming from the region, and he knew it was likely somehow drugged.

Nick flew out of the way as another bullet shot toward him.  And then,
closing his eyes for a second, he knew he had only one option, one way
out.

Nick flew straight up and through the unshuttered--but unopened--
skylight and into the bright dawn light, feeling another bullet hit
him in the side.  Instinctively he went for cover, forcing himself to
fly as far as he could before reaching the faint safety shade offered.

And then he only stayed a moment before starting off again as he heard
the sound of approaching sirens.

*+.*+.*+.*+.*+.

Schanke had heard the dispatch on his way home, "...units to 101
Gateway Lane."

Immediately, he had turned his car toward Nick's, and a short few
minutes later he had pulled up among several squad cars.  He headed
inside, not asking what happened.  He expected it would be Nick,
probably killed, nothing but a faint reminder of him left.  But,
instead, he was confronted with Natalie, lying in a pool of blood, as
the subject of the scene.  And Nick was nowhere to be found.

To make matters worse, Nick was the initial and sole suspect.  And by
the flits of conversation he heard, Nick had also been pegged as a
vampire--by the lone bottle of human blood in his refrigerator.

In a mild state of shock, Schanke's mind screamed at him that this was
all wrong.  He barely learned anything more before Cohen stepped up to
him, blocking his path toward Natalie.

"Detective, I think it would be best if you return to the precinct."

"No.  Nick did not do this!" Schanke stated, point-blank, before Cohen
could tell him otherwise.  "There is no way in--"

"Detective, I'm ordering you off this scene.  You're too close to
this."

"So, what, some agent from that crack-pot-run group is going to
question me about Nick?"

"I suggest that you refrain from using the crack-pot comment,
Schanke."

"Wait, you mean...."

"Yes.  They are sending an agent to speak with you.  They are very
interested in what you might be able to tell them."

"About Nick."

"Yes.  And about Dr. Lambert."

The mention made Schanke turn toward where Natalie lay, her body now
under a sheet.  "They don't think....  Captain--"

"No, they do not believe she was a vampire.  However, they do suspect
she was aiding Knight with keeping what he was secret, likely covering
up for him."

Schanke swallowed at that, not giving a reply.

"Swanson!" Cohen called, catching the attention of a passing officer. 
"Tell Pierce you're taking Schanke and his car back to the precinct."

Swanson nodded and went to find his partner.

"Captain--"

"A good friend of yours has been murdered and your partner is the most
likely suspect.  You are going back to the precinct, and then you're
going home and staying there for the next several days.  Detective,
you will not be working anywhere near this case."

"I know Nick, and I know he couldn't have done this.  I don't care
what they say he is or what he's done in the past, he--"

"Schanke, two IVEA agents are taking this case.  They will consider
any and all information obtained carefully."

"Yeah, I bet they will.  And twist it--"

Cohen glared at her Detective.

"Why?" Schanke then demanded, citing, "This isn't an international
crime."

"It is a given that any vampires discovered have no claim of
citizenship or immunity in this or most other countries."

"But shouldn't it be a cooperation?  Isn't that how it's supposed to
work if we suspect someone of being a vampire or we find evidence of a
vampire?"

"Yes, but this is murder, Schanke.  And the suspected vampire is a
cop.  All investigative powers go to the IVEA."

Schanke set his jaw.  He hated that part of this.  It was like
stripping someone, of a vital part of ones identity.  There surely had
to be vampires that had lived their entire lives in their birth
country.  But he already knew that even that didn't count.  There was
nothing he could do.

When Swanson returned, Cohen told Schanke, "Give Swanson your keys.
He'll take you back to the precinct."  Getting a glare from Schanke,
Cohen told him, "My hands are tied on this.  I'm only here to
supervise the scene until the agents arrive.  After that, I'll be just
as uninvolved as you."

Seeing Cohen's dislike of this as much as he, Schanke felt a bit
better.  But he still hesitated in handing over his keys.  He had no
wish to leave.  What would they find to incriminate his partner?  And
how much had been planted?  He knew for a fact that Nick hadn't had
any bottled blood since before the announcement was made that vampires
even existed.  If that had been planted, what else had?  How much more
of the crime scene had been contrived?

He gave his keys to Swanson, exhaling.  At least Cohen was right about
one thing--he had no wish to drive anywhere right now.  As soon as he
left here, he suspected his thoughts would only run wild.

*+.*+.*+.*+.*+.

[Friday, May 12th, 1995]

Schanke stared blankly at a TV in one of the conference rooms.
Several other officers and detectives were also in the room, watching,
stunned, at a special news report.

"Dr. Natalie Lambert, County Coroner, was found dead this morning in
Toronto at the home of Toronto Homicide Detective Nicholas Knight.
While little information has been released, an IVEA agent, when asked
about the agency's involvement in this case, stated that Knight is the
suspected killer and was also recently flagged as a vampire in their
files, despite careful screens of all city employees.

"Citizens have already raised questions regarding the IVEA's
competency and the possibility of giving them even more leeway in such
matters.  They cite that Knight would have been prevented from killing
if his passing of the screening did not instantly add what the IVEA
are referring to as 'red-tape'.  Citizens are also questioning the
resourcefulness of vampires, as Knight apparently had a supply of
human blood despite the IVEA's careful observation and destruction of
such supplies.  The IVEA have stated that Knight might be a
particularly dangerous vampire and that there may be more like him
still passing for human.

"When asked what flagged Knight as a vampire, IVEA agent Marissa Burns
stated it was the identical characteristics of Toronto Detective
Nicholas Knight to a Civil War doctor of the same name discovered
while investigating another vampire.  When asked if they had more
information on Knight, Agent Burns declined to answer, stating that
they have only begun an investigation on Knight's history and that
they know little about him at the moment other than his present name.

"More information will be released as we receive it.  We will now
return to--"

Schanke turned and walked out, hoping to avoid questions from the
other officers.  After all, he had been Nick's partner.  But, for
whatever reason--perhaps because of Natalie's death--no one said
anything to him.  Not to ask if he had known what Nick was, if he
thought Nick did it, or a mention of how horrible Natalie's death had
been.  Nothing.

*+.*+.*+.*+.*+.

Myra nonchalantly turned a corner out of the hall and into the living
room, her heart jumping when she came face to face with Nick.  She
stepped back, stopping only when he reached out, a hand taking her
upper arm, the grip very light.  Before she could speak, she watched
Nick double over in pain, and then walk right by her and into the
kitchen.

She followed him, calling his name, but he didn't answer.  Earlier,
her husband had called, mentioning what had happened to Natalie, that
Nick had vanished, and that he had to go back to the precinct.
Remembering his insistence that Nick couldn't have done this, no
matter what he was, Myra felt a little more confident as she
approached Nick.

When he vomited blood into the sink, Myra's attention switched to his
state.  Scanning him, she could see burns on his face, neck and hands,
and also what looked like two bullet wounds, one to the shoulder and
another in his side, both of which looked like they were still
bleeding.

After several minutes passed and Nick seemed to be doing better--at
the very least not vomiting blood anymore, the blood now all rinsed
down the drain--she took a step closer, again calling his name.

Nick didn't turn toward Myra.  The second bullet didn't seem to have
the same effect as the first...which he was now certain had been
drugged somehow.  Between that, the burns, and the wounds, he was
having trouble focusing.  It had taken over an hour to get to
Schanke's to begin with.  And now that he was there and felt
relatively safe, he found it increasingly difficult to concentrate on
anything.

"Nick, are you okay?  Schanke called, told me about...."

Nick closed his eyes.  Was it news already?  What were they saying?
He felt another wave of pain, and he no longer cared.  He grabbed for
the counter and pulled out a drawer, only to find it filled with
dishcloths and kitchen towels.  What had he been looking for?

"Is there something I can do?"

Nick slowly turned to face Myra, trying to think.  "I need...."  He
closed his eyes as yet more pain and now a very definitive weakness
washed through him.  "I was shot with...some type of bullet, or....
Something on it or in it...I need something to remove them.  Something
to grip and pull them out...anything that might--"

Myra watched Nick tightly grip the counter and again cough up more
blood.  She hated to leave him like this, but she knew there was a
pair of large tweezers in the bathroom that might help.  She rushed to
retrieve them, freezing for a moment as she heard a strange thud come
from the kitchen.

Hurrying back, Myra again froze when she saw Nick on the ground, a bit
of blood on both the floor and the corner of the drawer Nick had
pulled out.  She knelt down and gently turned his head away from the
linoleum to reveal a deep and jagged gash among the burns.

Vampires were supposed to heal quickly, she thought, but Nick appeared
to be doing nothing of the sort.  Then she remembered the tweezers
still in her hand and that Nick had wanted the bullets out.

For a good minute, Myra didn't move.  She wanted to help, but had
never done anything quite like this.  She took in a deep breath.
Despite some fear at what would happen when Nick woke, as after all if
he were a vampire he would likely want blood, she did what she could
to remove the bullets.

She removed his jacket with difficulty, and then unbuttoned his shirt
to get at the wounds.  She then braced herself and removed the
bullets, neither of which had embedded very deeply.  The one in his
shoulder had come out in a single piece, although barely, a deep
fissure running down one side.  The second came out in one piece,
slightly cracked where the wood met the metal tip, but not nearly in
pieces like the first.  As she sat the bullets on a plate, a clear
liquid slowly oozed out of the first after a couple of minutes.

Her hands had trembled the entire time, with the only thought allowing
her to continue being knowing that she could likely do no harm to him.
And she also wanted to know what had happened and couldn't just stand
by and watch someone suffer.

Now, even as her hands still shook, Myra's fingers itched to call her
husband, but if Nick were the primary suspect in killing Natalie...it
would do nothing to help either Nick, herself, or her husband.  At the
very least, Nick's injuries looked less severe, even if he was still
unconscious.

*+.*+.*+.*+.*+.

Schanke sat uncomfortably in the interview room across from an IVEA
agent.

The agent, Mark Evans, exhaled.  "Detective, do you understand what is
happening?  That your partner is a confirmed vampire and--"

"He did not kill Natalie."

"Even knowing that he's not human?  That it is in his nature to kill,
his very instinct?"

"It's not like him.  That scene....  Nick never could have done that."

"And why do you say that?  Perhaps because of irrational personal
reasons...?" Evans suggested.

Schanke fidgeted.  He didn't want to say anything about Nick, but he
didn't like how they were forcing Nick into the mould they had created
for all vampires, a mould that wasn't a catchall.  "I've worked with
Nick plenty long enough to know him.  And I don't care if Nick's a
vampire or not.  I don't see why it should matter.  He's just as human
as I am."

"But that's it--he's not human.  Doesn't the knowledge that he's
probably thought of you as a meal more than once make you doubt your
loyalty to him?"

Schanke set his jaw.  "No."

"What do you know about him, Detective Schanke?" Evans asked.  He
pulled out a file folder and read off, "Nicholas B. Knight, date of
birth January 1, 1957.  And how much of that do you think is true?
Obviously, the birth year is false.  But how far off is it?  You don't
know, do you?"  Agent Evans carefully studied the Detective's
reaction, quickly realising that the other clearly had no idea.  Evans
smirked.  "You don't know anything more about him than is on the news,
do you?  He hasn't been very trusting with you.  And I thought he was
your friend?"

Feeling nervous, Schanke shifted in his chair, inwardly wincing,
knowing the agent would read into his action.

"We've placed him as a Doctor during the American Civil War.  It might
sound like a respectable, caring occupation, but did you know that war
attracts vampires?  It's all the bloodshed, the easy prey, the
death....  To them, what does it matter if the dying pass from life a
little quicker?"

Schanke swallowed at the inference, not sure what to think.

"Did you know your partner's description also comes up in an unsolved
1974 Los Angeles murder investigation?"  Agent Evans took out a file
folder and tossed it in front of Schanke.  "Take a look."

Gingerly, Schanke opened the file.  The sketch of the suspect looked
exactly like Nick.  Worse, all three murders had female victims with
punctures to the throat.  Autopsy revealed that the victims had all
died of blood loss despite very little blood found near or on the
victims.  A vampire had killed the women.  Nick was a vampire.  And
Nick had been linked to all three victims.  Hiding his shock and fear
as well as he could, Schanke closed the file and pushed it across the
table toward Evans.  He had seen enough.

"A rather interesting read, wasn't it?"

Schanke didn't answer.  And then, between the comments, the unsolved
nature of the case, and that it seemed that these agents had missed
what Nick was the first time around, Schanke thought aloud, "He's
gone, isn't he?"

Now it was Evans' turn to remain silent, but observing.

"You thought you could kill him, but instead you lost him."

Ignoring the change in subject to the present situation, Evans stated,
"You're in denial."

"Nick couldn't have done that," Schanke nearly yelled, giving a curt
nod to the file.

"Really?  Then you would describe him as a model detective?"  Evans
pulled out another file, opened it, and smiled as he glanced at
Knight's file.  "Let's see...he's described as a hotshot by other
officers, does not work well with others, disregard for rules, etc,
etc.  It's amazing he hasn't been suspended for some of this...."

"And maybe you should look at more his file."

"What, his so-called commendations for bravery?  As a vampire, he
wasn't risking anything.  He likely used what he was to get those."

Schanke stiffened.  He hated that Evans was just twisting everything
against Nick.  "What does any of this have to do with now?"

"You tell me.  How close would you say Knight and Dr. Lambert were?"

"They were good friends."

"Do you think she knew what he was?"

Schanke nearly said no, but realised the question was trying to set
him up to get information.  "If anyone knew, it would have been
Natalie.  If she actually knew or not, I don't know."

"Take a look at those 1974 victims, Detective.  Look carefully at the
autopsy results."

Schanke cautiously opened the folder again, scanning the autopsy
results more thoroughly.  He froze.  All three victims had been fed
off of, repeatedly.  They had all been bitten a total of either four
or five times.  He knew Nick had been feeding from Natalie....

"You might find it interesting to know Dr. Lambert has over half a
dozen bite marks.  He'd been feeding from her, weakening her, possibly
planning to kill her."

"Nick had no reason to kill her."

"Perhaps she found something out about him that was unacceptable?
Perhaps she was going to turn him in?  He couldn't allow that, could
he?"

Schanke stood up.  He had had enough of this so-called 'interview'.
As far as he was concerned, this agent was merely trying to get his
opinion of Nick to change.  "Can I leave, or are you going to actually
start asking useful questions, like who had access to Nick's home or
maybe when I last saw either of them?"

Evans leaned back, closing Knight's file.  "You're free to go."

Schanke left before the agent changed his mind, bumping into another
agent, that redheaded Marissa Burns, as he left the room.

Marissa entered and asked her partner, "Anything useful?"

"He's still in shock.  I don't think he had any idea what Knight was
before tonight.  He's in denial, can't believe his partner's a
vampire.  I gave him a few things to think about, though."

"Are we going to try again?"

"No.  No, I don't think he'll help us--no matter what we throw at him.
Besides, Knight's probably long gone or will be by sunset.  He won't
stay here long.  We'll have to catch up to him another way."


Downward Spiral - (06/27)

Nick woke pain free, the linoleum behind his bare lower back sending
an odd chill through him.  He slowly sat up and then stood, buttoning
his shirt after noticing the bullets he'd been shot with had been
removed.  He was still nauseous, and his hunger and light-headedness
vied for attention.

Myra came around the corner, startled slightly upon finding Nick
standing.  Only a faint pinkish tinge of his skin remained of his
burns, his other injuries appearing completely gone.  "I was starting
to worry; you've been out for hours.  Do you, ah, feel any better?"

Nick simply nodded.  While he did feel better than he did, he felt
nowhere near well.  Hearing a snippet of the morning news, Nick slowly
walked around Myra and toward the television.  He stopped in front of
it.

Not only were his and Natalie's names and faces flashing on screen
from time to time, but there was also yet another list of vampires
found and killed.  He watched the faces and names flash by in the
bottom right corner of the screen.  A couple of the faces almost
seemed familiar, or was it simply the haunted, frightened expression
most held?  Only his picture seemed lacking of the fearful hints.  But
even his photo--which was his badge photo--held an odd haunted tinge
to it.  Did mortals see it?  Or was he just seeing things?

Nick jumped as Myra touched his arm.  He immediately closed his eyes,
feeling his hunger jump, remaining even as the hand retreated.

"I can turn it off, if you'd like?"

"No," Nick immediately answered.  "No, it's fine.  I'd like to know
what's happening."

"It's a mess.  Or, it was.  You're...at the top of their list.  Well,
actually you're the only one officially wanted...."

Nick sat down on the couch, closing his eyes as he leaned back.  But
he reopened his eyes, feeling himself begin to nod off with just
listening to the news.

"They don't know much about you."  Myra paused, and then asked, "Did
Natalie know?"

Nick stiffened at the question, but answered, "Yes, she knew what I
was."

"And my husband?  Did you tell him?" Myra asked, her nervousness
showing in her voice.

Nick turned to her, meeting her gaze.  She didn't hold any mallace
toward him, just curiosity and fear.  He would have suspected she
would have noticed the wounds on Schanke's arm, that Schanke might
have even told her, but she either hadn't or wasn't making the
connection.  Looking away, he stated, "I didn't deny what I was when
he asked; he's known since just after the existence of my kind were
made public."

When Myra seemed to accept his answer, Nick turned his attention back
to the news.  Focusing on what was being said about him, Nick noticed
a change had been made.  The bios for the vampires killed still had
the deep blue background they had always had.  His, however, was
maroon.  Whether or not the IVEA wanted it, they would have to reveal
the identities of more suspected vampires soon.  The public would
latch on to it and demand it, considering the number of those killed. 
His eyes darted along his mini-file the next time it popped up.
Current name, and age of 175+ was all that was listed.  Despite his
tiredness, Nick smiled.

"What?" Myra asked, noticing an oddly pleased expression on Nick's
face considering a good friend of his had just died and he was the
suspect in her murder.

"I don't fit their mould.  They'll be hesitant to reveal anything
about me, especially my age."  In explanation, he added, "I'm older
than any of those they have so far...revealed."

After a few minutes, a bit nervous, Myra said, "I...haven't told
anyone you're here."

"And I'm grateful of that."

Myra slowly nodded.  And then, not quite meeting Nick's eyes, she
asked, "I don't want to insult you by asking you this, but did you
kill Natalie?"

"No."  Nick looked down, shutting his eyes tight against his anger.

"I knew you were good friends."  Myra approached, sitting next to
Nick.  "Don called a few minutes before you woke.  He said he'd be
home soon."

Nick slowly nodded.  Schanke was whom he wanted to talk to, wanted to
see.  He felt like he needed a few days to recover.  He was so very
tired....  But he would only stay with permission.

*+.*+.*+.*+.*+.

Leaving the precinct after calling Myra, Schanke headed home only to
turn around less than a minute from home. He started drumming his
fingers on the steering wheel.  He was tired, but his mind wouldn't
let him rest.  

Could Agent Evans have a point?  How much information on Nick did they
have?  The information on the Los Angeles cases seemed credible, but
Nick just...couldn't.  He had said that vampires didn't often feed
from mortals.  No, Nick had said they didn't often kill for blood,
that it wasn't typical in this time.  Nick hadn't said anything about
himself on that if he, personally, killed for blood from time to time.

And 1974?  That was a mere twenty-one years ago.  And Natalie....
He'd think for someone to survive being fed from that many times the
vampire would have to have some experience keeping the human alive.
And that meant that Nick had to have done this before.

It was hard knowing that much of what Evans said could very well be
right.  He had seen Nick's hunger before he had taken his blood.  And,
as Evans had pointed out, Nick really didn't have a problem bending
the rules when he felt like it.

But Nick actually killing someone?  Sure, Nick had the ability to
kill.  But didn't everyone have that?  And as a cop, you had to think
that way.  You had to think about what the suspect might do next,
sometimes even did have to kill or risk killing someone to stop them. 
But Nick wasn't trigger-happy.  He'd seen cops like that.  Nick used
his weapon less than he did, less than most cops.

But then, did Nick even need his gun?  Vampires didn't need weapons to
kill.  He'd felt the strength Nick had, expecting he could break bones
with little more than a quick and simple movement.  Nick held great
control over what he was; he had to, to be a cop.

Schanke swallowed, realising he'd been overlooking something.  Nick
did have great control.  How much of the real Nick had he seen?  How
much had Nick allowed him to see?

Truthfully, he didn't know Nick.  He had possibly learned more about
Nick's past from Agent Evans than he had from the source.  And
Natalie....  Had Natalie possibly paid for trusting Nick too easily?
Or was he just thinking too much?

Stifling a yawn, Schanke directed his car back toward home.

*+.*+.*+.*+.*+.

A instant after her husband arrived home, Myra saw him stop cold upon
seeing Nick on the couch, asleep.

"Myra, what--"

"He got here this morning, an hour or two after dawn."

"Has he done anything to you?" Schanke asked, his thoughts from
earlier inciting his worry.

"No."  Figuring her husband would want to know how Nick was, she
explained, "He was burned when he arrived.  He was weak, and he'd been
shot."

The last statement pushed Schanke's concern more on Nick.  "Shot?"

"Twice.  And he was drugged, I think.  He needs to rest.  Let him
sleep while I pick Jenny up from school?"

Schanke tensed.  Jenny.  He had spent so much time at the precinct,
and then delayed coming home.  And Nick was here, and....  Schanke
shook his head and walked over to where Nick slept, even as Myra
tugged on his arm, trying to keep him away.  But he had to know, from
Nick, what was true and what wasn't.  Nick would tell him, give him an
answer, or he would tell Nick to get out right then and there.

Stopping next to Nick, Schanke reached down to his partner, taking his
arm, and then went to pull Nick up into a sitting position.

Nick instinctively pulled away as he woke from the touch.  He slipped
out of the grip with difficulty, landing on the floor, which jarred
him the rest of the way awake.  "Schanke?"

Myra stepped closer, at which Schanke said, "Go pick up Jenny.  I want
to talk to Nick alone."

From where Myra stood Nick was the one at a disadvantage, and she
turned her focus on him.  When Nick gave her a nod and turned back to
her husband, Myra asked, "What should I tell her?"

"Nothing for the moment.  Just...I'll think of something, okay?  Nick
can help."  Schanke then shot a glare at Nick, waiting for Myra to
leave.

Once Myra had left and they were alone, Nick stated, "I didn't kill
her, Schanke."

"I want to know a couple things, Nick.  Where were you in 1974?"

Nick tensed.  If Schanke was asking, he either knew something or had
been told something.  "Los Angeles.  Why?"

Schanke felt sick.  "I want the truth on this, Nick.  Did you kill
anyone while there?"

"No," Nick whispered.

"No one?"

"No one, Schanke."

"But you were in Los Angeles?"

"Yes."

Schanke paused.  Either Nick was lying or the Agents were messing with
him.  "Have you ever fed from someone like you have from Natalie?"

Nick involuntarily shrunk back.  "Not...recently, and not to such a
degree, but yes."

"What about in 1974?"

"Schanke, I...."

"Come on, Nick.  Give me something about you and about this that I
don't know."

Nick closed his eyes.  He hadn't planned on telling Schanke more about
him, hadn't wanted to get Schanke even this involved.  He had planned
on leaving, merely mentioning to Schanke that he would be gone.  "In
the last hundred years, I've rarely killed.  I haven't even drunk
human blood regularly in that time.  Taking Natalie's blood--it was
very hard for me to do that to her.  I never even let myself take
enough, especially the last couple of weeks."

"The stuff in those cookies...that's why it affected you so much, why
you were so hungry, why...."

"Schanke?  Would you give me a hand up?"

Schanke stood in place, frozen for several seconds, just staring.
Nick needed help up?  Was Nick really that weak, or did he just want
to conserve energy?  Or perhaps simply want to show a little trust?
Whatever the case, Schanke reached a hand out to Nick, whose cold grip
seemed icier than usual, and he pulled Nick to his feet.  He then
watched Nick sit back down on the couch, his unsteadiness apparent for
the few seconds he had been standing.  "What happened this morning?  I
mean, you had to know.  You were there.  Your fingerprints...."

Nick nodded, and then explained what had happened from when he had
entered and smelt Natalie's blood, to realising another was there and
being shot at, and then him fleeing and the time spent since.

Schanke's doubt quickly vanished, with Nick showing him the removed
bullets the clincher.  As it was only fair, he told Nick about his
interview with the IVEA agent.  Finishing, Schanke stated, "They made
that up about you.  They were trying to get me to give you away, to
turn on you and see if I knew anything that would help them."

"Thank you for not doing so, Schank."

"I couldn't tell them anything, though.  I don't know enough about you
to--"

"You know more than enough.  There's Janette, the Raven, and--" Nick
cut off, but too late.

"Janette.  So, she is a vampire, yes?"

Nick squirmed, uncomfortably.  He didn't answer.

"And--"

"Schanke....  Let's just say you know plenty enough about me to give
them a good lead.  Little inconsequential bits of information...gold
mines to them."

"Do you, ah, think they'll find you?"

Nick looked away.  "After I leave here?  I don't know.  Probably.  But
how or when that will play out, I don't know."

Schanke watched Nick's attention abruptly turn toward the door and
asked, "What is it?"

"Myra and Jenny."

Schanke looked to the door just as a somewhat nervous Myra opened the
door, Jenny following, and an involuntary shiver ran through him at
the ease at which Nick knew someone was approaching.

Jenny stepped inside, her eyes going wide upon seeing Nick there.  She
already knew what had happened--she had seen it on the news just
before she left for school.  Locking her eyes on Nick, she bluntly
asked, "So, did you do it?"

"Jenny!" Myra exclaimed at the abruptness.  And then she answered,
"And no, he didn't kill her."

"But you are a vampire, aren't you?" Jenny prodded, slowly stepping
closer, cautious but curious.

"Yes," Nick answered, doing his best to make his expression pleasant
despite his weariness.

"Is what's been said on TV about vampires true?"

"About our abilities and disabilities, yes.  Much of the rest is
biased or untrue."

"So, you don't want to kill me, or drink my blood?"

"No," Nick said.  And although it was true that he had no desire to
harm her, he still tensed.  Between the events of the morning and
being weakened so much, he genuinely had no real want for blood, not
even a little.

"Can I--" Jenny cut off as her mother put a hand on her shoulder.

"Room and homework."

"But--"

"Perhaps later, if Nick feels up to it, he'll let you ask some
questions?" Myra said, turning her attention to Nick.

When Nick nodded after a moment, Jenny brightened and hurried off to
her room.

"Will you?" Schanke asked.

"Maybe, if I'm awake."

"If you're...."  Schanke then asked in a whisper, "How are you doing,
really?"

Nick's eyes darted away from both Schanke and Myra.  He could feel
their concern for him.

"You leaving tonight?"

"No," Nick answered.  "Not tonight.  If I can stay here, that is?"

Schanke automatically nodded.  How could he refuse?  Then, slowly, he
went still, realising Nick likely had few reasons to remain.
"Wait...you're going to try and stay for Natalie's funeral, aren't
you?"  Schanke watched his partner stiffen, but not answer.  "You
know, I should throw you out for your own good."

Nick looked down once again, but shook his head.  However much he
wanted to stay, he knew he couldn't.  "No, I should be gone before
then."  Meeting his partner's eyes, he evenly stated, "And yes, it
would probably be best, for both of us.  I don't think it would be
wise--for you or your family--if I stay more than a couple of nights,
if that."

No one immediately said anything.  After conversation became awkward,
Myra fidgeted slightly and then headed toward the hall, saying, "Well,
you're here at least until tonight.  I'm going to straighten the spare
room up a bit for you and find some clothes that are better than those
destroyed ones you have on."

Nick then slowly leaned back into the couch, relaxing once again.  He
tried to focus on anything, something...but everything was either
blank or a muddled mess.

"Where are you going to head to?"

At that, Nick's eyes shot toward Schanke.

"Well, I guess it's probably best if you don't say...but so you have
somewhere in mind?"

Nick looked away, absently looking about the room.  Truthfully, he
didn't know where he would go.  He hadn't been able to sense even a
hint of Janette or LaCroix for a couple of weeks--not even enough to
know what direction to head in.  And he had tried.  Perhaps they had
fled too far?  "No," he finally answered.  "No, I don't know where
I'll go."

A few minutes later, Myra returned, mentioning where he could sleep
and that she had set out some clothes and a towel for him, if he
wished to take a shower.

Nick simply nodded.  He didn't want to move.  Then, when Myra became a
little nervous, her eyes darting at the increasing sunlight streaming
into the room, he told her, "I'll be fine out here for a while."

"I'll make sure Jenny knows not to disturb you," Myra said.

Before Nick could protest, Myra had vanished down the hall.  It was
probably best, anyway.  For now, he just wanted to sit and not think
of anything....


Downward Spiral - (07/27)

Suddenly, Nick woke from sensing someone hovering over him only to
have it confirmed by a rapid--and rather nervous--heartbeat.  In the
dark room, he instantly reached out and grabbed the mortal by the
arms.  When the small form went to flee, he turned and pulled her
back, instinctively preventing a scream by covering her mouth.

It was Jenny.  Nick closed his eyes, holding her in place for several
seconds before slowly releasing her.

Jenny turned around and took several steps away from the bed.  "I
didn't mean to--"

"What time is it?" Nick asked, his eyes darting to the dark and silent
hall behind Jenny.

"Ah, it's 5:19 AM.  Or it was...."

After five...the sun would once again be up soon.  He had slept far
longer than he had intended.  Nick fell back onto the bed.  He was
still tired.  He closed his eyes, but opened them a minute later when
the heartbeat approached and Jenny sat on the bottom corner of the
bed.

"You know, you don't look like a vampire."  Jenny folded her legs,
sitting cross-legged, and then mentioned, "But then I don't think the
others do, either...the ones they've shown pictures of."

Nick closed his eyes again.  He had spent hours and hours staring at
the news, and the pictures flashed in his mind involuntarily.

"I don't think it's right.  You don't seem...evil, like they say you
are."  When Nick didn't speak, she slowly continued, "The
pictures...it's lonely being a vampire, isn't it?"

Lonely....  Nick thought about that, the images flitting slower and
slower until they stopped.  Yes, being a vampire was lonely.  And he
slipped back to sleep.

"All the pictures look so sad and tired."  Jenny inched closer to Nick
until she sat next to him.  "Nick?"  She prodded his arm, but he
stayed still.

Carefully, Jenny backed up and off the bed, not wanting to disturb him
again.  Reaching the door, she pulled it back with her, nearly
shutting it as she felt the air move behind her, a woman's hand
pressing against the door.  Jenny looked to the side and could just
make out the stark contrasted outline of a pale complexioned, dark-
haired woman.

"I will not harm you," Janette whispered.  Then, with a nod toward the
room the girl had come from, she asked, "Is Nicolas...?"

"He's, ah...." Jenny started, barely in a whisper, but ended up merely
nodding.

Pushing the door open, Janette walked past the girl and into the room.
She sat on the bed's edge, setting a fabric tote on the floor next to
the bed, which clanked against the dresser.  Janette gently touched
Nick's face.  He remained asleep.

Janette's gaze shifted to the door as the girl vanished from sight,
likely off to wake her parents.  Her primary focus returned to Nick,
whose skin felt unusually cold.

Schanke recognised Janette the instant Myra flipped on the light.  But
here, now?  "Janette, what--"

Janette turned, her eyes locking onto Myra.  "I think it would be best
if you and your daughter left."

Nervously, having neither seen nor heard anything about this woman
before, Myra asked, "Are you, ah, a friend of Nick's?"

After a short moment of hesitation, Janette told her, almost smiling,
"Yes, we're...rather old friends."

When Myra didn't back out of the room, Schanke turned and guided both
Myra and Jenny out into the hall.

"Detective."

Schanke turned, surprised at the single soft word.

"You may remain, if you wish."

Schanke looked back and over at Nick.  His partner still slept,
despite the sure disruption of the past minutes.  When Myra pulled
away, taking Jenny with her, Schanke nodded to Janette.  He would
stay.

Once satisfied that the other two had left, Janette told him, "Bring
me a glass."

The order made Schanke tense.  "Why?"

Janette reached into the bag she set on the floor and pulled out a
half-filled wine bottle.  She held it, fingering the unlabelled glass.

"Oh," Schanke said as his breath abruptly left him.  "Yeah, yeah,
I'll...ah, I'll be right back..." he said, stepping away from the
doorway.  He walked halfway back to his bedroom before realising the
kitchen was the other way and turned around.

Janette gently smiled at the mortal's nervous manner.  Then, she
slowly walked around to the other side of the bed and sat on the edge
next to Nick.  Leaning down, she kissed him on the lips, at which Nick
slowly woke.  And when he did, he kissed her back, a hand holding her
loosely in place.

Sensing the mortal's return, Janette gradually pulled back and sat up,
her fingers resting against Nick's lips as he closed his eyes.

Nick lay there, still, listening to his partner's nearby heartbeat.
Opening his eyes, he reached a hand up and pulled Janette's fingers
away.  "Janette, you shouldn't have--"

Janette replaced her fingers on his lips, stopping him.  "You would
rather I had not come?"  A hint of anger touched her features at his
worry over her safety.  "We've been worried about you, Nicolas, and
with reason.  You were staying so very long...."  Janette ran her
fingers along Nick's bottom lip.  "We haven't sensed you for weeks.
Nothing.  LaCroix, he--"  Janette cut off, the mortal's stiffening at
the name telling her she had said something that was new to him.  She
turned to Schanke, and not bothering to ask Nick if he minded, she
explained, "LaCroix is the one who brought Nicolas over."

"LaCroix?" Schanke asked, a bit puzzled.  Somehow he felt that Janette
thought he should know who this LaCroix was...and the name did sound
familiar.

Nick's eyes slipped shut once again and he turned his head away from
Schanke.

"Nicolas hasn't told you?"  Janette turned her focus fully on Nick,
and it was clear he had said nothing to Schanke of LaCroix.  She
pursed her lips, and then asked, "Has he said anything about me?"

"Nope.  Nada.  Wouldn't even confirm if you were like him or not.
Granted, he didn't deny it, either, but...nope, nothing."

"Hmm....  Not even a hint of...blame?"

"Janette...."

"Tell him, then."  When Janette saw that Nick was going to resist, she
half-snapped, "You trust him enough to come here, Nicolas.  And what
has he asked for in return?"

Schanke, between seeing how uncomfortable Nick was becoming and
feeling that discomfort himself as he listened in, interjected, "You
don't have to say anything, Nick."

Nick shook his head, "No, I should say something.  At least about
LaCroix.  You've...met him, in a way."  He smiled half-heartedly and
asked Schanke, "That 'creep' I used to listen to?"

"That NightCrawler guy?"

Nick nodded.  Then, after a few seconds, he stated, "LaCroix."

Schanke uncomfortably fingered the glass he had retrieved from the
kitchen.  So, that was why Nick listened.

Janette's eyes caught on the bloodstained bullet hole in Nick's shirt,
and her worry skyrocketed.  "What happened yesterday morning?  By the
news, I thought--"

"I'm fine now, Janette."  And then, Nick explained the short
confrontation he had when finding Natalie.

Janette closed her eyes for several seconds, and then put the bottle
of blood on the dresser.  She pulled Nick up, trying to get him to sit
up...but he wasn't helping her.  Between his explanation and how Nick
had been slowly starving himself, she didn't bother asking or
commenting.  Instead, she moved behind him, helping him sit up by
leaning against her.  She nodded toward the mortal, her eyes gesturing
to the glass in his hands.

Schanke moved slowly forward, and he handed the glass to Janette, who
had already pulled the cork out of the bottle.

"Janette, I don't want--"

"I know you don't, but you must.  Just a few sips, and then you can
sleep some more?"

Nick nearly protested, but he could handle a little.  He didn't feel
like arguing right now.  He let Janette pour him a few ounces of
blood, and then he slowly drank it.

*+.*+.*+.*+.*+.

Several hours later, long past dawn, Schanke poked his head into the
spare room, surprised when he found Janette awake, lying on the other
side of Nick.

Janette looked up and over toward the door, sensing the mortal
watching her.  "Yes, Detective?"

"What's wrong with him?" Schanke asked, nodding to Nick, who had slept
most of the morning since Janette had arrived.

"He has had far too little blood recently.  It is what happens to us
when we are on the brink of starvation."  When the mortal shifted
nervously, she told him, "Do not worry; Nicolas will be fine."

Schanke nearly asked another question, when the doorbell rang.  He
heard Myra go to the door, and then he heard Cohen's voice.  Schanke's
eyes widened, and after giving Nick a glance, he quickly and quietly
backed up, pulling the door shut once he was in the hall.

Schanke then headed toward the front door, slowing as Captain Cohen
came into sight.  As Myra left, he asked, "Captain?"

"I'm sorry to come here like this, but I looked over the IVEA's
interview of you and I was not impressed."

"Not much of an interview, huh?"

"I wouldn't know on that, Detective."  Cohen paused, explaining, "Much
of the transcript was blacked out."

"So you're here to question me?"

"Unofficially, yes."

"Unofficially?"

"The case is closed, Detective, and I have no more say in this matter
than you do.  The IVEA has made up their mind."

"They had that made up before they even talked to me, Captain."

Cohen nodded, dropping some of her professional manner.  "Shall I
interview you here, in the entryway, or--"

"Yeah, yeah, you should come in," Schanke said, somewhat preoccupied. 
Between knowing this conversation would bring back seeing Natalie,
dead, and would surely focus on Nick, who was hiding in his house....

"We can do this some other time?"

"No.  No, now is as good as any."  Schanke led Cohen into the living
room, letting her decide where to sit first.  Once Cohen sat on the
couch, Schanke chose to sit in a recliner, nearly opposite of her on
the same side of the room.  "I take it you being here means you don't
think Nick did it?"

"I think there's reasonable doubt."

"But you're not certain?"

"No.  But I take it you are?"

"Nick didn't kill her."

"And the rest?  I might not have access to her autopsy, but I do know
that what has been mentioned on the news is true.  She had been bitten
a number of times by a vampire.  Fed from, repeatedly."

Schanke froze.  Maybe he would rather this waited a couple of days?
He almost preferred the questioning he had received the previous
morning over having to deceive Cohen, whether that be through out-
right lying about not seeing Nick or merely giving his views on the
matter--opinions based on information than he had no plans on sharing.

Cohen was about to elaborate when Nick slowly approached seemingly out
of nowhere, stopping any comment.  He looked exhausted and unwell, and
she recognised his clothes as those he had worn the last time she had
seen him at work, although they were now rumpled and she spotted a
couple of tears and blood stains on his jacket.

Schanke noticed Cohen was distracted and turned.  He instantly stood
upon finding Nick there.  "Uh, Captain, I--"

"I was feeding from her," Nick stated, his voice soft and his eyes not
quite meeting Cohen's.

Janette stepped up to Nick from behind and tried to pull him back,
tried to get him to change his mind on this.  She stopped when it only
made Nick stumble as he forced himself out of her touch.

Cohen eyed the vaguely familiar woman.  About the only thing she was
sure of was that she was clearly a friend of Nick's and likely another
vampire.  Returning her focus to Nick, she asked, "With or without her
permission?"

"With."  Nick glanced away before telling Cohen, "Natalie knew what I
was.  It was her insistence that I take her blood.  I wanted to
refuse, but I couldn't.  I either had to take her blood or I had to
leave, possibly drawing attention to myself...and in turn her."

Janette stepped forward, walking around Nick, all the while keeping
her attention on the woman.  "Nicolas did not kill Natalie.  I have
known him for a very long time, and he would not."

Taking a step forward, Nick took Janette by the shoulders, pulling her
back.  "Janette--"

"Nicolas should rest," she said, her eyes focused solidly on Cohen.

Nick pulled Janette back even further, and leaning forward toward her
ear, said in a soft and almost harsh whisper, "Go, Janette.  I'll be
fine."

"But--"

"This is my choice, Janette!  I wish to explain what happened, what I
saw."

Janette closed her eyes and looked to the side.  She said nothing.
After a few seconds, she moved aside and walked toward the bedroom,
casting a glance back at Nick just before vanishing down the hall.

"What happened...Nick?" Cohen asked, hesitating before saying Nick's
first name.  "I suppose Knight isn't your real name?"

"No.  No, it isn't."  Nick paused, and then he explained everything
from when he had arrived home the previous morning to when he had fled
after being shot at.  He even mentioned having tasted Natalie's blood,
why he had done so, and what he had learned from it.  And, briefly,
that he suspected the IVEA was behind what happened.  He mentioned
very little of his time spent at Schanke's, other than to give a short
detail of his reaction to what he was shot with.

Cohen's eyes again flickered over Nick's clothes.  She was still
examining the bullet holes when he stood and, from his jacket,
procured his gun and badge and sat them on the coffee table separating
them.

"I won't be needing these."

"I can't take them, Detective.  And I'm sure you are fully aware of
that.  Questions will be asked if I--or anyone else--ends up with
possession of either item."  She expected him to pick his badge and
gun back up and, when he turned toward the hall and started off
without so much as a word, her focus again returned to his tired
manner.  However much she wanted to speak with him about any number of
things, Cohen knew him well enough to know he wouldn't answer her.
Hearing a door shut down the hall, she turned to Schanke and flatly
asked, "How is he?"

"I honestly don't know."  Then, after an awkward moment of quiet,
Schanke asked, "Are you going to tell anyone about Nick being here?"

Cohen tensed, but shook her head.  "No, this visit was purely for my
own interest.  Just be careful."

Schanke nodded and, as Cohen stood and started for the door, silently
showed her out.

*+.*+.*+.*+.*+.

Janette entered the bedroom that evening, shortly before sunset,
watching Nick take a sip of a glass of blood she had poured for him
earlier.  Although she had been gone for several minutes, the glass
was nearly as full as it was when she left.  In fact, his nervousness
and tenseness as he sat in the chair in the room's corner told her
that he had only taken that one sip.

"Is it done?" Nick asked, not turning to look at Janette.

"Yes.  She'll remember nothing of your...visit.  She is sleeping."

Nick closed his eyes, looking down.  He hadn't wanted to take Jenny's
memories away, but he knew it had to be done, for safety.  It was bad
enough that both Myra and Schanke would remember....  Janette had
brought the topic up earlier after Cohen had left and after mentioning
that they should to leave that night.  And he had agreed it had to be
done, but had been reluctant to do so.  Janette had suggested she
should do it, that he had had enough stress over the past two days,
not to mention the past several weeks.  And then that had been the end
of that conversation.

"Nicolas?"  Janette slowly approached Nick, watching as he stared at
the blood, slowly swirling the glass, completely lost in thought.
"Have you told your partner?"

Nick stopped all movement.  Still not turning to Janette, he told her,
"No."

"Nicolas....  We must leave as soon as the sun sets.  You know that." 
She stepped up to him and brushed his hair back from one side of his
face.  "And you've barely touched your glass."

"I'm not--"

Janette tilted his gaze up to look at her.  "I know, but it will take
most of the night to reach where LaCroix and I are currently staying. 
You must drink as much as you can."

Nick pulled his head back and away from Janette's touch, returning his
attention fully to the glass of blood.  He upended it, forcing himself
to drink the whole glass at once.  It was the only way he would manage
more than a couple sips, even if he risked both feeling and becoming
sick again.  Nick then abruptly stood up, the action forcing Janette
back.

Janette followed Nick out of the room, picking up the bag that she had
put the bottle back into.

Nick hesitated as he went to the living room, only to find that his
badge and gun weren't there.

"I have them, Nicolas," Janette said, patting the bag slung over her
shoulder.

Nick slowly nodded, and then he froze as Schanke walked in from the
kitchen.

Schanke, seeing Nick resembling a deer caught in someone's headlights
and Janette looking like she was ready to leave, didn't have to ask
what it meant.  "You're leaving and you won't be back, will you?"

Nick averted his eyes.  "Yes, and no, I probably won't."

"I'll tell Jenny--"  Schanke cut off when Nick stiffened.

"Jenny has no memory of Nick or I having been here the last couple of
days.  Say nothing to her."  Janette started for the back door.  Just
before she left, she urged, "Come, Nicolas, the sun has set."  She
then left, walking outside to wait for Nick.

Nick gave one last glance to Schanke, giving him a nod as he, too,
parted.

Schanke called after Nick, wishing him luck, aware the chances of
seeing his partner again were likely very slim.  If at all.


Downward Spiral - (08/27)

Janette followed Nick down to the ground for the forth time that
night.  The first time, it was because he had gotten sick, apparently
from the blood he had drank.  The second time, he had needed to rest. 
The third time, he again needed to rest, during which she managed to
persuade him to drink the remainder of the blood.  And now?

She spotted him, sliding down to the ground against a large tree as
she landed.  Janette hurried over to him.  "Nicolas?" she prodded as
she knelt on the packed dirt at the base of the tree, taking his face
in her hands.  His skin was so very cold, and he looked exhausted.
She reached for his hands, taking them in her own, and then tried to
urge him to his feet.  "Come, Nicolas, it is not much further."

Nick just shook his head, neither bothering to get to his feet nor
pull out of Janette's grasp.  He closed his eyes, muttering, "I'm
tired, Janette."

Janette rubbed the back of Nick's hands with her thumbs.  She again
attempted to urge him to get up, but she only felt him slip even
further away from her as he lay down, eyes still closed.  "Nicolas?"

"I'm fine," he whispered.  "Just need to rest a few...."

"No, we must--"  She stopped when his muscles gradually relaxed.  He
had fallen into a deep sleep.  Janette closed her own eyes, but only
for a few short seconds as she felt her own tiredness creeping in,
trying to convince her that a quick nap would be good.  But she didn't
dare do so, not at early-morning while out in the open spare a few
trees.  They had been so very close to arriving....

Janette sat down next to Nick, her right hand occasionally caressing
his cheek or neck, trying to wake him up.  And, after nearly an hour,
she managed it, his eyes slowly opening, unfocused.  "Nicolas?"

Nick slowly sat up, feeling his body ache as it sluggishly responded. 
"How long?"

"Not quite an hour."

Nick closed his eyes, taking in several deep breaths.

Reaching her hands back up to Nick's face, holding each side, she told
him, "I know you're not doing well, but we must continue."  She felt
his head nod ever so slightly.  "The blood from earlier, how--"

"I'm fine, Janette.  I'll be fine."  Nick forced himself away from
Janette and to his feet.

Slowly getting to her feet, Janette pursed her lips, watching Nick
stand before her somewhat unsteadily.  But he was standing, and they
had less than an hour more to fly.  She turned away and took off.

*+.*+.*+.*+.*+.

LaCroix sensed Janette's arrival mere seconds before she pushed the
door open, walking into the room tiredly.  However, his concern
immediately went to his son, who paused and leaned heavily against the
doorframe, gripping it with one hand for even more support.  Even as
close as they were--a mere dozen feet and shrinking as he approached
the younger man--he could not sense his son in any manner.

He pushed by Janette to get to Nick quicker, and he quickly raised his
hand and pressed it against his son's cheek without a reaction from
the other.  His skin was so very cold....  "Nicholas?"  Again, he
didn't get a response.

Nick was so exhausted he couldn't speak, couldn't even take another
step.  He was starting to feel sick again, but he was too tired for
that as well.  His vision abruptly blurred, and he could feel the wood
of the doorframe sliding against his hand and shoulder.

LaCroix noticed the change just in time to slow Nick's fall, lowering
him slowly to the ground.

After closing the door to the sparse apartment, Janette stated, "He is
very weak, LaCroix."  She paused, hesitating before telling him, "When
he found Natalie, they went for him.  They disable us before killing
us, LaCroix.  And he just managed to get away."

"Tell me what happened, exactly."

Janette did so, explaining what little Nick had told her.  Finally,
she told LaCroix, "He is having trouble keeping any blood down.  And
perhaps worse, he has no desire for it.  It is like what you
experienced with the poisoned blood."  Janette hesitated, wondering
what more she should say, and then told him, "And please, take care
what you say about Natalie...I don't know how he is taking what
happened."

"What do you mean?" LaCroix asked, his attention shifting fully away
from Nick.

"He hasn't talked much about her.  He has slept most of the last two
days and spoken very little."  Janette stepped closer as LaCroix knelt
down next to Nick.  "You can help him, can't you?"

"Nicholas will recover only if it is not too late."

"If it's...but--"

"I cannot sense him, Janette.  Nothing!  Not now, and not when you
arrived."

Janette swallowed.  She had noticed Nick appearing to get worse, but
she hadn't expected Nick's condition was that serious.  Would Nick
want to keep living?  It was one thing to be a vampire as vampires
were being exposed to the world, and another to be accused of killing
a good friend, shoved out of one's life, and having one's name posted
on every channel.  And with how he physically felt....  She had to
admit that he seemed like he was giving up, but she had assumed it was
the poison.    Could this be too much for him?  She could see LaCroix'
intense worry as he tended to Nick, hoping Nick's possible disinterest
was temporary.

LaCroix went as far as slicing both their palms and placing the wounds
together in a hope to help, but even he was unsure whether this would
be much aid to his son.

*+.*+.*+.*+.*+.

The following night, hearing a light knock at the door Janette
cautiously opened it to find Aristotle.

"I must speak to LaCroix."

"This is not a good time.  Nicolas--"

"Yes, yes, LaCroix mentioned you were retrieving him.  How is he?"

"Unwell."

Aristotle stepped inside, Janette backing out of his way.  He gave the
room a glance and then quickly headed toward what he knew was LaCroix'
bedroom.

Janette followed, watching LaCroix turn toward Aristotle as he
approached.  Nick, who was entwined with LaCroix, shifted slightly at
the other's movement.

"Nicholas is--" Aristotle halted his response as Nick stirred further,
waking.

Nick woke, feeling restrained by LaCroix.  However, he didn't attempt
to forcibly break free, and instead leaned back to get a better look
at who had spoken, at which LaCroix released him and let him lie
completely on his back.

Aristotle took in Nick's pale and ragged features, commenting, "You
don't look well, Nicholas."

"I don't feel it, either," Nick forced out in what manifested as a
whisper.

First walking back to the door and then turning toward LaCroix,
Aristotle said, "LaCroix, I need a word with you."

LaCroix got out of the bed and stood, but hesitated following
Aristotle out of the room.  He could see how weak his son was, despite
that he was currently awake.

"I'll be fine," Nick said, his voice stronger, but far from sounding
strong or certain.

Without another word, LaCroix turned his attention to Janette, giving
her a firm glance before leaving, the action silently telling Janette
that he wanted her to remain with Nick.

Once in the main room of the apartment with Aristotle, LaCroix
questioned, "What is it?"

"First, I would like to know about Nicholas' condition.  There's his
hunger, but there's more, isn't there?"

"He was somehow shot with the mortals' drug."  Then, firmly, he
stated, "Nicholas will recover."

"How can you be certain?  The tainted blood was enough to kill some of
us.  You, yourself, were sick for several days.  If he was shot,
Nicholas has likely received a much higher and purer dose of this
drug, and while he is not young he is still younger than some of those
killed by the tainted blood."

"Why are you here?" LaCroix demanded.

"The information you wanted."  Aristotle pulled out a computer disk
and held it out to LaCroix.  "It's the list I've compiled on those
that are either confirmed dead or believed to be dead.  I assume you
should be able to find what you're looking for in there."  Aristotle
hesitated before heading toward the door, considering asking LaCroix
to tell Nick something for him, but changed his mind.  LaCroix would
likely say nothing.

"LaCroix?" came Janette's voice, causing the other two vampires to
turn toward her.  She said nothing more, not wanting to worry
Aristotle.

Seeing Aristotle prepared to offer whatever help he thought he could
provide, LaCroix abruptly told him, "We will talk later."

Aristotle nodded, and then went to the door and left the apartment.

LaCroix then wordlessly headed back to his son, only to find the
bedroom empty.  His eyes darted to the bathroom, where he could just
see a hint of the younger vampire.  He approached, but stopped short
of touching Nick, who was leaning against the counter, faintly
shaking.  "Nicholas?"

Janette pulled LaCroix back by the shoulder, merely managing to budge
him a few inches.  Then she whispered, "I believe his hunger has
returned."

LaCroix pulled out of Janette's grasp, looking at her for a moment
until she turned and left.  Returning his focus back on Nick and
taking a step nearer, he asked, "Is what Janette said true?"

"I'm not sure.  I want....  But...."  Nick turned, his eyes a deep and
burning gold.  "I am so very hungry...."  Then, closing his eyes,
after several seconds Nick finally answered, "And yet, even just the
thought of having any blood makes me feel ill."

LaCroix turned, planning on going to the kitchen and getting Nick a
glass of blood, only for a hand to stop him.  He again faced his son
and could see the hunger had only amplified.  LaCroix looked down when
his hand was taken, pulled upward and bitten into.  He said nothing at
the action, merely closing his eyes, allowing his son to take whatever
he wished.

Within moments, LaCroix found his wrist released.  Despite that he had
instantly opened his eyes, Nick had already managed to slide past him.
LaCroix stiffened.  He disliked being unaware of the younger man's
mood.  Silently, LaCroix left the room, but didn't follow after his
son.

*+.*+.*+.*+.*+.

Janette's eyes snapped open, thinking Nick had perhaps entered the
room--but he hadn't.  After Aristotle had left the previous night,
Nick had remained in LaCroix' room, only venturing out close to dawn. 
And when dawn had arrived and she and LaCroix headed to sleep, Nick
had adamantly stayed awake, not even returning to one of their rooms.

She had even gone to LaCroix' room to sleep, leaving her room empty in
case Nick wanted to be alone, but she never heard Nick head down the
hall to her room.  Nor had LaCroix, who could now sense Nick, which
was something she had not yet been able to do.

Carefully, as it was near sunset, Janette got out of the bed and
walked slowly across the room to the door and left.  She headed to the
living room, where the glow of a computer screen put Nick's very awake
features under a harsh light, making them weary.  When Nick didn't
comment, she approached and sat next to him.  And then, seeing that
the computer was LaCroix' and that he was looking at the file
Aristotle had brought over, she asked somewhat curtly, "What are you
doing?"

Nick snapped his attention to Janette.  "Haven't you wondered?"

"Wondered what?"

"Why they aren't taking credit for all they have done, all they have
killed?"

"Well, they couldn't until the announcement was made, could they?"

"But they could have gotten started on catching up, yes?"

"Nicolas...."

"Look."  Nick turned