From: Kate Gibney DTD: "First, let's get rid of these blinds..." by Kate Gibney Nick cleared away the evidence of his blood drinking and turned toward the elevator, to face one of his greatest nightmares, to face - The elevator door opened and Natalie stepped into the loft. Nick almost collapsed as the overwhelming tension was replaced by relief. He recovered quickly and rushed over to her. "Nat, I'm so glad it's you!" he exclaimed, giving her a bear hug and then taking the package she carried and bringing it into the kitchen. Natalie looked slightly alarmed. "I'm glad to see you, too," she said. "What's going on?" "What makes you think anything's going on?" "You've never been this happy to get my protein drinks. Come on, spill it." Nick looked away, slightly embarrassed. "I almost called you before, but it's so silly - I should be able to handle this -" He started pacing the room. Natalie walked over to the couch and sat down, patiently waiting for him to continue. "Schanke's coming over and - I knew something was up when the shift started, but he wouldn't tell me until we were leaving and it was too late.." He continued circling the room, his pace increasing. Natalie waited until he passed within reach and then grabbed him by the arm. "Nick, you're making me dizzy! Sit down, take a deep breath, and start at the beginning." He did as instructed. Natalie was amazed at how quickly he could go from frantic movement to almost absolute stillness. "Schanke won a raffle at - at his church or something - and the prize was a free consultation with an _interior designer_!" He shuddered slightly. "You know how he always calls this place the high-tech dungeon of doom, especially since he stayed here for a few days - last month remember? And I know they're just trying to be nice but I feel like there's this crazy woman out there and Myra won't let her into the house so they're sicking her on me," he finished miserably. Nat took a moment to decipher the hodgepodge of words, and then said, "So they gave their free consultation to you?" "Yes," he said, nodding vigorously. "He explained to her about our working hours and made special arrangements for her to come at six a.m., and didn't tell me about it until we were leaving work, so there was no time to - to - " "To weasel out of it?" Nick sighed. "I was hoping when I came home that there would be a phone call saying they couldn't make it, or it was an April Fool's joke, or something." "Nick, it's June." He got up and started pacing again. "I like my place the way it is! This _stranger_ is going to come in here and poke into everything - and pass judgment - and want to change things - and touch my stuff -" He stopped in his tracks. "Oh god - what if she wants to do something pink!" "Nick, get a grip! She's just going to give her opinion! You don't have to agree with her, you don't have to accept anything she says. Just smile, say you'll think about it, thank her for her time, and eventually she'll leave. Like with a salesman - haven't you ever had to get rid of a salesman?" "Nat, I'm a vampire. It used to be if I wanted to get rid of someone I just, you know, _got_ _rid_ _of_ _them_." Natalie swallowed and nodded, trying very hard to keep her expression neutral. "Now I have a security system and an answering machine. I don't deal with these people!" He turned and looked at her. "The last time I opened the door to a salesperson I ended up with - you don't want to know." Nat thought that she probably did want to know, but now was clearly not the time. The elevator started to move, announcing Schanke's arrival, presumably with the interior decorator in tow. "Just smile, say you'll think about it, and for heaven's sake don't hurt Schanke's feelings! He really is just trying to be nice." "I know," Nick said. He came over and stood in front of her, taking her hand. "Stay, please?" "Are you kidding? I wouldn't miss this for the world." He smiled tentatively, giving her hand a gentle squeeze, and then went over to let them in. The end.