Date: Tue, 15 Oct 1996 19:37:03 -0600
From: Sarah Baker <zeke@RT66.COM>

Disclaimer: The characters in this story are not mine -- Nick,
Natalie, Schanke, and LaCroix belong to TPTB of Forever
Knight.

It's time to get in the mood for Halloween.  This is a very early
second season story -- Nick and Natalie are still "just friends"
(well, sort of). Also, the story is not as 'fluffy' as it starts off, but
I did have fun writing it.

Please feel free to send comments/suggestions to me at
zeke@rt66.com. I love e-mail!


ALL HALLOW'S EVE (1/6)
by Sarah Baker (zeke@rt66.com)


"Hello."

"Nick, it's Nat.  I need a favor."

Nick smiled.  He enjoyed the idea of Natalie needing something
from him for a change.  She had certainly come to his 'rescue'
more than once.  "Ok, what is it?"

"Well..."  Natalie was stalling.  Nick had no idea how long it
had taken her to work up the courage to make this call in the
first place.  "... I need a date."

Nick laughed at her hesitation.  "That's not such a big favor.
Where do you want to go?"

"No.  You don't understand.  I need a date for a party."

"Natalie..."

"And a dinner."

"Natalie!"

Natalie tried to get the explanation out all at once so that it
wouldn't sound as stupid to Nick as it had to her.  "You
remember when I told you that my cousin, Sammie,  had moved
to Toronto?  She's been giving me such a hard time about not
having a love life and threatened to tell my aunt which would
then get back to my entire family and I had to tell her something
so I told her that I had someone steady and now she's insisting
that I bring him to her Halloween party and..."

"Nat," Nick broke in, "slow down.  You know I don't like
parties."

"I know, I know.  I just figured that maybe we could put in a
quick appearance and then leave.  We could tell her we have
other parties to go to or something.  Then, I swear, I'll do
whatever you want.  I would owe you a big one!"

The pleading tone in Natalie's voice struck a guilty chord in
Nick.  It wasn't like she was asking him to do something he
<couldn't> do ... just something he didn't particularly want to
do.  He sighed and gave in.  "Alright, Nat.  I'll do it.  I'd be
happy to do it.  But what's the dinner part?"

"Well, she tricked me into dinner tomorrow night."

"Tricked you?"

"Yeah.  She said she didn't see how I ever had time to date
anyway, and I told her I was going out tomorrow night because
it's my night off.  So she insisted we have dinner with her and a
few of her friends.  I told her I wasn't sure and she all but said
that she thought I was lying about having a date!"

"Well, you were."

"That's beside the point."

"And the point is?"

Nick heard an exasperated sigh on the other end of the phone.
"It's hard to explain.  She's just always been able to get to me,
you know?  All my life I've felt like she was one step ahead of
me.  I know, it sounds stupid and childish..."

"Well, maybe just a bit."

"Thanks!"

"Nat, you know I <can't> do dinner."  He hesitated and sighed.
"But maybe we could stop by for drinks."

"Really?  You mean it?"

"Sure.  We could watch videos afterwards.  We haven't done
that in a long time."

"I'll even let you select the videos!  Thanks, Nick.  You have no
idea how much this means to me.  I owe you!"

"And I'll collect!" he answered in his most devilish voice with a
grin.

"Anything!" she answered back just as devilishly.  "See you at
work?"

"Probably."

Nick shook his head to himself as he hung up the phone.  This
was a side of Natalie that he wasn't used to seeing.  But then,
what were friends for?

***********

Work had been busy, but Nick hadn't had a reason to spend
much time in the Coroner's Building.  He had managed to swing
by just long enough to arrange a time to pick Natalie up.  She
had been so grateful for his willingness to play along that he felt
bad about not being more eager.  She didn't understand how
difficult it was for him to spend time in a room with so many
mortals now that he was no longer 'hunting', and he didn't really
want her to understand.  He would just have to be sure to be
well-fed before the party.  At least a quick visit for drinks
shouldn't be so bad.  And he was actually more eager to 'play
along' than Natalie realized.

Natalie was ready to go when Nick knocked on her door.  She
looked more than just a little pleased as she noted his dark suit
and blue silk shirt.  "You look nice!"

"Thanks.  I try.  You don't look so bad yourself!"  Nick admired
her dress with the neckline that was quite a bit lower than he
was used to seeing her wear.  The light brown highlighted her
hair which fell loosely about her shoulders.  "Maybe we should
do this more often," he grinned.

Natalie felt her face getting warm.  She tried her best to will the
blood in her cheeks to flow back to where it belonged.  "Look,
Nick, I feel kind of foolish about all this.  I really do appreciate
what you're doing."

"I think you've already said that.  And I really don't mind.  What
are friends for if they can't help you out of a jam?"

She gave him an appreciative smile.  "Right."

"Shall we go?"  He offered her his arm.

"Sure," she answered with a smile as she took his arm and
closed the door behind her.  It didn't appear that he was going to
make her feel worse by teasing her about this.  At least, not
now.  No telling what kind of ribbing she'd have to take later,
but it was worth it.  For once she was going to have the upper
hand with Sammie.  Natalie was confident that her cousin didn't
have a date that would come close to touching hers.


End Part 1.
ALL HALLOW'S EVE (2/6)
by Sarah Baker (zeke@rt66.com)


Nick followed Natalie's directions until they pulled up in the
semi-circular driveway in front of a sprawling house ... mansion
almost ... in the outskirts of town.

"Your cousin lives here?  What does she do?"

"She's in international law.  I don't really know the details,"
Natalie explained, "but she makes a bundle.  She is a little ...
different.  Well, you'll see."

Different was right.  When the door opened, Nick found himself
looking eye to eye with a blonde woman.  She was every bit of
six feet tall and extremely slender.  Her floor-length black dress
was slit up one side to reveal a leg as shapely and long as any
Nick could remember seeing.  Her green eyes, lowered
seductively, drew Nick's gaze as she framed the doorway.  She
leaned forward to give Natalie a quick hug.

"I'm so glad you could make it, Cuz."  She moved back from the
doorway to allow their entrance.  "And this must be Nick."

"Nick, this is my cousin, Sammie.  Sammie, Nick."

Cold hand met warm as Nick shook hands with Sammie, and
she held his hand slightly longer than was comfortable.  "So
nice to meet you, Nick," she said with lowered voice.  "Please
come in."  Sammie pointed Nick towards the living room as she
released his hand.  Behind him she put her arm through Natalie's
and whispered, "Hmm. He's cute."  Natalie, knowing that Nick
could hear their conversation, decided not to answer.

The living room was filled with black leather furnishings and lit
by candles.  Seated around the room were two women and three
men, all dressed in black, sipping on various drinks.  Their
conversation stopped as Nick, Natalie and Sammie entered.

"Everyone, I'd like you to meet my cousin Natalie and her friend
Nick."

The seated people nodded in their direction and raised their
glasses.

"Nick, what can I get you to drink?"  Sammie asked politely.

"Wine?"  Nick asked.

"Red or white?"

"Red would be nice."

"Please have a seat.  Natalie, why don't you help me with the
drinks?"

Natalie followed Sammie to the bar as Nick seated himself at
the end of one sofa.  A slender, black-haired woman lowered
her glass.

"Hi, Nick.  I'm Cassandra.  What do you do?"

"I'm a homicide detective."

"Oh, I see.  How interesting that must be."

"Sometimes," he answered curtly.

Nick was relieved when the others in the room seemed to pick
up their interrupted conversations.  It gave him the chance to
eavesdrop on Natalie and her cousin.

"How long have you known each other?"

"A couple of years."

"And you're still just <dating>?  Oh my, we will have to work
on that."  Nick couldn't tell if the tone of her voice was sarcastic
or not.

"Things are fine just as they are, Sammie."

"Sure they are."  Definite sarcasm that time.  "Here.  You take
this to Nick and I'll bring yours."

Nick stood up as Natalie approached with his wine.  He smiled
at her as he took the glass and offered her a seat next to him.
Just as he sat back down, Sammie handed Natalie a glass and
perched on the arm of the sofa.

"Nice hair," she said as she tugged on the end of Nick's hair.
Startled, he looked up at Sammie.  She smiled smugly, got up
from the sofa, and seated herself in a chair across the coffee
table.  Nick and Natalie exchanged a glance.  He reached for her
hand and held it in his.  'Nice touch,' Natalie thought to herself.
In truth, Nick was feeling more than just a little uncomfortable.

Polite conversation continued for quite awhile.  The two other
women drew Nick and Natalie into the conversation with
questions about their jobs.  Nick sipped slowly on his wine,
choking down as much as he could and trying to ignore the
bland taste.  When the talk lulled momentarily, Sammie leaned
across the coffee table.

"Natalie, where did you get that gorgeous ring?" she asked.

Natalie looked down at the gold pinky ring with the tiny ruby.
"Oh, it's something I picked up years ago in an antique shop."

"May I try it on?"

"Sure."  Natalie slipped the ring off and handed it to Sammie.
Sammie placed the ring on her hand and held it up to admire it.
"It is beautiful, Natalie.  I'll have to look for one like it.  Ruby is
my birthstone, you know."  Sammie lowered her hand and
tugged on the ring.  She pulled for several seconds and then
looked at Natalie.  "I think it's stuck.  Oh, Natalie, I'm sorry.  I
guess my fingers are a little swollen.  I'll get it off in the
morning and return it too you."

Natalie looked wistfully at the ring.  It was her favorite ring, but
there was nothing she could do about it being stuck on
Sammie's hand, and she didn't want to make a scene.  "That's
ok, Sammie.  You can give it back to me at your party."

Sammie smiled at her.  "I'll do that."

Nick noticed that the other women in the room exchanged a
meaningful glance as the ring episode occurred.  He felt an
unexplained knot forming in the pit of his stomach.

"Nat, we had better go.  We don't want to miss our dinner
reservations."

Natalie looked at her watch and feigned surprise.  "Yes,  we
don't want to be late."

Nick stood up quickly and pulled Natalie to his side.  He bowed
slightly to Sammie.  "Thank you for the wine.  It was nice
meeting you."

Sammie also stood up and led them to the door.  "I'm sorry you
couldn't join us for dinner.  Maybe another time?"

"Yes," Nick answered evasively.  "Another time."  He put his
arm around Natalie's waist as soon as they were out the door
and walked her quickly to the Caddie.  When they were both
inside the car, he let out a 'whew' and started it up.

"Well, that was... different," Natalie stated.

"Yes.  Different."

"Sammie has always been a little strange, but nothing like this.
I'm sorry, Nick."

"Hey, it's ok."  He reached across the seat and squeezed her
hand.  "I enjoyed being with you."

Natalie returned Nick's smile and relaxed.  "Let's go watch a
few videos.  Can we pick up something for me to eat on the
way?"

"Sure.  Whatever you want," Nick answered as he pulled away
from the house.  "As long as you don't get french fries."

Natalie laughed.  "Promise."


End Part 2.
ALL HALLOW'S EVE (3/6)
by Sarah Baker (zeke@rt66.com)


"Well, that wasn't so bad," Natalie commented on Nick's choice
of movie as he hit the rewind on the remote.  "A little old,
maybe."

"That depends on your point of view."  He raised one eyebrow
at her.

"It's almost midnight.  You want to watch one more?" she asked
as she put the last handful of popcorn in her mouth.

"Sure.  You have any suggestions?"

"I told you -- your choice."

"Ok," he smiled, "but you'll probably be sorry."

Nick slid his feet off of the coffee table, stood up, and started
for the video collection.  Halfway across the room, he stopped.
His head suddenly exploded with the sound of voices.  He
dropped the remote and covered his ears with his hands in a
vain attempt to stop the noise.  Nick dropped to his knees.  The
voices continued and grew louder in a language he couldn't
understand.  It sounded almost Latin, but backwards.  The
harder he squeezed his head, the louder the voices grew until he
thought he would explode.

"Nick!"

He could barely hear Natalie's voice as he collapsed on the
floor, unconscious.

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

The damp grass was soundless beneath his feet as Nick walked
the English countryside.  In the distance, he heard a steady
chanting of women's voices that was mixed with the sounds of
crackling wood.  As he neared, he could make out the
accelerated beating of many hearts.  He saw the sparks rising
from the fire and approached with curiosity.  Kneeling behind a
bush, he watched as the outlines of women as they danced
around a roaring fire.

The words the women chanted rose unintelligibly to his ear.  He
was entranced by their movements as they danced and circled.
He found himself drawn to the eerie site until he realized he was
no longer hidden from their view.  One voice rose from the
others in warning.

"An intruder!" the voice screamed as the dancing stopped.  Nick
was suddenly surrounded by a group of women, all speaking to
each other at once.  He looked from one face to the next and
recognized them as women from the village that he saw each
evening, covered from head to toe in respectable 1600s fashion.
Now they circled him, draped in black robes with their feet and
heads bare.  As he stood confused, dozens of  hands grabbed his
arms and pulled him towards the fire.

"To complete the ritual," he heard as a sharp knife cut a lock of
his hair.  Suddenly, his shirt was ripped from his body, and he
was pushed into the middle of the circle.  Nick was too
confused to resist and stood looking at the women.  One stood
much taller than the others.  She pulled another woman too her
and cut a handful of her hair.  The tall woman mixed this hair
with Nick's and raised her hands together above her head,
speaking in the language he'd heard before.  As her voice
reached a level that almost deafened Nick, she threw the handful
of hair into the fire.  Nick suddenly felt his head spin and fell to
his knees.  He covered his ears with his hands as the women
began to chant, but their chanting continued in his head.  The
woman with the missing handful of hair was pushed into the
center of the circle and stared at Nick.  Her black robe was
stripped from her body by several of the other women.  They
began to circle again as the woman stood naked before Nick.

*********

"Nick, drink this," he heard as the cold liquid ran to the back of
his throat.  He sat up quickly trying not to spit the liquid back
out.  Opening his eyes, he found Natalie sitting next to him on
the floor holding a glass in one hand and helping him up with
the other.  She drew back from him as he stared at her through
vampire eyes.  He looked, obviously confused, from Natalie to
the glass and then grabbed the glass from her hand.  She
watched as he gulped the liquid.

Nick closed his eyes, letting  the blood slide down his throat.  A
soothing calm spread through his body as the blood did it's job.
When he knew the vampire had receded, he reopened his eyes.

"Nick, are you alright?"  Natalie asked, her concern overcoming
her fear.

Nick moved his head in a circle slowly.  "Whew.  I don't know
what happened."

"Come sit on the sofa," Natalie ordered as she took the glass
from his hand and pulled on his arm.  Nick slowly got up and
mentally inspected himself.  Except for a soar spot on his
forehead, he was intact.

"That was strange."

"That's an understatement.  What would make you pass out,
Nick?"

"I don't know.  It's not something that happens everyday."  He
smiled weakly.

"What can I get you?"

"Another drink?" he asked apologetically.

Natalie quickly refilled his glass and returned.

"I feel helpless.  I don't know what to check," Natalie
complained.

Nick took another large drink and tried not to show that he was
enjoying it.  He covered Natalie's hand with his own.  "I'm ok
now," he reassured her.  "I don't know what it was, but it's
over."

"Well, you probably need to rest."  That was the only advice
Natalie could think of.  "Can I have a rain check on the movie?"

"Sure."

"I'll check on you later.  You get some sleep and call me if you
need anything."

"Ok."  He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it gently.  They
smiled at each other.

Natalie suddenly furrowed her eyebrows.  "I forgot. I don't have
a way to get home."

"Why don't you take the Caddie and pick me up on the way to
work tomorrow night?"  Nick wanted to offer her the sofa, but
was worried about having her around when he was feeling so
strange.

"I'll call you later."  Natalie patted Nick's shoulder as she passed
him on the way out.

Nick listened to Natalie drive off in the Caddie.  He slowly
sipped from his glass as he tried to figure out why the strange
memory from so long ago had suddenly popped into his head
tonight.


End Part 3.
ALL HALLOW'S EVE (4/6)
by Sarah Baker (zeke@rt66.com)


"Man, this city does get weird around Halloween."

"Yeah," Nick agreed.  "Let's hope Natalie found something."

"Yeah.  I'm just glad I'll be there tomorrow night to take Jenny
trick-or-treating.  I'd hate to think of Myra out there alone with
her."

The clicks of Nick's and Schanke's heels echoed in the hall of
the Coroner's building.  They walked through the door to the
morgue to find Natalie leaning over a partially covered body.
She greeted them with a smile.

"What's new, guys?  Got your costumes on already?"

"Very funny, Natalie," Schanke retorted and walked to the table
to examine the body.

"You got anything for us, Nat?" Nick asked.

"Not yet.  All I know is that she was stabbed eighteen times.  No
signs of rape."  Then she leaned closer to Nick and whispered,
"Feeling ok?"

"Yes," he shrugged.

"So what's next, Doc?"  Schanke asked as he straightened up.

"I've got a few more tests to run, and we won't have the results
from the blood screen for awhile.  I guess it's wait-and-see from
here."

"Okey dokey."  Schanke slapped Nick on the back and headed
for the door.  "Let's hit the streets again, partner.  It's almost
midnight... ought to find some <interesting> witnesses."

Schanke stopped in the doorway when he realized his partner
was not following.  He turned in time to see Nick collapse to his
knees, his hands over his ears.  Natalie held his shoulders as he
fell to the floor.

"Nick!" Schanke yelled as he ran back to where his partner lay
unconscious.  "Nick!"

Natalie knelt in front of Nick and turned to Schanke.  "Get some
water Schanke."

"What's going on?"

"Just go get some water, ok?  And see if you can find a damp
towel."  She watched as Schanke disappeared quickly from the
room.

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

The chanting in Nick's head changed to a steady pounding like
the beating of one heart.  He dropped his hands and stood up.
The woman in front of him appeared to move as the shadows of
the other women danced across her milky skin.  The circle
moved faster and faster as the chanting grew quieter.  The
woman walked slowly toward Nick, smiling seductively.

Nick felt the vampire taking over.  It wasn't the usual slow
possession caused by the proximity of a beating heart, but a
violent, instant possession.  He felt the vampire pushing him
through the air towards his prey, and then felt nothing.

The next instant that Nick remembered, he was rising from the
ground, the body of the naked woman lifeless in front of him.
The rest of the participants were gone.

"Nicholas..." the voice of his master pulled him back to reality
as Nick wiped his mouth with his arm.  "I think you ruined their
party." He turned away from Nick to survey the area.  "You could
have invited me," he chuckled.

"LaCroix, what happened?"  Nick finally managed to ask.

"Well," LaCroix answered calmly, " it looks to me like you
wandered in on a coven celebrating All Hallow's Eve."

"But I don't remember anything."

"Too bad."  LaCroix frowned teasingly and then laughed again.

********

Nick jumped to consciousness, his eyes blazing.  Natalie was
beside him, prepared.  She handed him a bag of cold blood and
moved back a few inches as he snarled and sank his fangs into
the blood.  Natalie winced at the thought of giving Nick human
blood, but this was an emergency.  Schanke would be back at
any moment.  Nick drained the bag in a few seconds.

Nick handed Natalie the bag and pushed himself back against
the wall.  He closed his eyes and sat with his head on his knees.
He heard Schanke crash back through the door and stop beside
him.

"Damn," Schanke muttered. "I spilled half the cup."

Nick opened his eyes to find a paper cup and wet towel shoved
in his face.  He took the towel, pressed it to his forehead, and
looked at Natalie.  She was watching him very closely.

"I'm ok now, Schank," Nick said as he waved off the water.

"What's going on, Nick?  You scared the hell out of me!"
Schanke was clearly shaken.

"Sorry, Schank.  I've been having these headaches lately..."

"Man, that must be some headache!"

"Nick, maybe you'd better take the rest of the night off," Natalie
strongly suggested.  "I'll give you a ride home and check you
out."

"Good idea," Schanke agreed.  "I'll let Cohen know.  I can look
for witnesses by myself.  Don't worry, ok?"

"Thanks, partner," Nick said as he got up slowly.  "I think
maybe I <do> need some rest."

Natalie put her arm around Nick's waist and 'helped' him out the
door with Schanke hovering closely behind.


End Part 4.
ALL HALLOW'S EVE (5/6)
by Sarah Baker (zeke@rt66.com)


Nick lay back on the sofa and Natalie sat next to him on the
edge.

"What's happening, Nick?" she asked.

"I don't know for sure.   This has only happened once before."
Nick frowned and stared at the ceiling.

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

"You don't understand, LaCroix.  I had no control."  Nick
reached for the remains of  his shirt as he stood up.

"Hmm," LaCroix rubbed his chin and smirked.  "Did they take
something from you... besides your clothing, that is?

Nick shook his head, trying to remember.  "My hair."  His hand
clutched the short remaining patch.  "Someone cut my hair,"
Nick responded almost to himself.

"Well, my dear boy, I would say you were under the influence
of a spell."

"What do you mean?" Nick asked, staggering toward LaCroix.

"Historically, this eve is the one during which the witch's spell
is reported to be the most powerful.  Covens gather at midnight
to send out their requests to their gods.  It's said that the request
is given special attention if it is accompanied with sexual
energy."  LaCroix raised one eyebrow, smiling, and placed his
hand on Nick's shoulder. "I would hazard a guess that your
<special> system doesn't react well to a spell of love... or, in this
case, lust."  LaCroix laughed and shook his head.  "Oh well,
Nicholas, I wish them better luck with the choice of their next
victim."

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

"Nick?"

"Sorry, Nat, I was just thinking."  Nick sat up straighter on the
sofa.

"About what?"  Natalie asked.

"This is going to sound strange," Nick hesitated.  "Is there any
chance your cousin practices witchcraft?"

"What??"

"I told you it would sound strange."  Nick swung his feet around
Natalie and to the floor.   He got up and started pacing the room.
"Nat, the only time this has ever happened before was when I
was exposed to witchcraft."

"Witchcraft??  Come on, Nick."  Natalie dropped her head into
her hands.  "You're not going to ask me to believe in witches
now, aren't you?"  She looked up at him in frustration.

Nick shrugged at her.  "What can I tell you?  You didn't believe
in vampires a few years ago, did you?"

"Ok, ok.  So what do witches have to do with these spells you've
been having, if you'll pardon the pun?"

"That's exactly it, Nat.  A spell."  Nick stopped in front of her.
"Do you remember when Sammie pulled my hair?"

"Yeah.  That <was> a little weird."

"A witch requires something personal to cast a spell."

Natalie resisted the urge to laugh at this whole conversation.  It
was totally absurd, but it was also obvious that Nick took this
seriously, and she had learned from experience to listen to him.
"What kind of a spell would she be casting?"

"I don't know, but I need to find out.  If we can find the place
where the spell is being cast, I may be able to stop it.... before
it's too late."

This last part sent a shiver through Natalie.  "What do you
mean, 'too late'?"

"It seems that the vampire doesn't react well to spells."

Natalie expected a smile from Nick with this last statement, but
didn't get one.  "I was going to let you off the hook for the party
tomorrow night, but..."

"I think we'd better go," Nick finished her thought.

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

Nick wove the Caddie slowly through the suburbs, avoiding the
hoards of ghosts, gypsies, and aliens.  They found Sammie's
house so full of people that the crowd was spilling out to the
lawn.  Nick parked at the end of the driveway, trying to avoid
being unable to get out quickly if he needed to.  He escorted
Natalie, who was wearing a full-length black dress under a
black coat, toward the door.

"I like your dress," he smiled.

"I thought you might," she grinned back. "At least this time we
match."

They found their way in through the crowd and were greeted by
Sammie.  She gave them each a kiss on the cheek and purred, "I
so glad you could make it."  She took their coats and
disappeared.

Nick and Natalie looked around the room that was filled with
people dressed mostly in black.  A few were donning traditional
Halloween costumes and masks.  Natalie covered her mouth to
stifle a chuckle when Count Dracula passed in front of them.
Nick looked at her and rolled his eyes.

In the background, nondescript music beat out a slow rhythm.
The room was, again, lit mostly by candlelight, and the ceiling
was draped with black crepe paper streamers.  In the middle of
the room was a smoking cauldron where several guests were
dipping out a dark red punch.

Nick, still holding Natalie's arm, leaned close to her ear.  "Let's
take a look around."

She whispered back, "What are we looking for?"

"I'm not really sure," he answered.

She shrugged at him as he released her arm.  They started off in
opposite directions around the room.

After squeezing through several conversations, Nick found a
hallway.  He realized, with relief, that the quiet hallway allowed
him to relax a bit from blocking out the sound of heartbeats.  He
felt the cop taking over his thoughts and actions.  As quietly as
possible, Nick opened each door and peered in.  Most of the
doors hid only average rooms, devoid of life.  A few hid
intimate meetings occurring between unmissed party-goers.
None hid anything that looked suspicious.  Nick hoped that
Natalie was having better luck as he headed back into the party.

Natalie found a hallway off the other side of the living room.
She started down the dark corridor, silently rehearsing a line
about looking for the bathroom, but was stopped before she
reached the first door.

"I was just looking for..."

"Natalie," Sammie interrupted. "You're just in time."  Sammie
slipped something over Natalie's head and looped her own arm
through Natalie's.  Sammie turned her around and led her back
to the living room.  "We're distributing party favors," Sammie
explained.  The two were followed by the women Natalie had
met at Sammie's before.

Nick spotted Natalie and Sammie walking back into the room.
Sammie announced to the room, "Ok everyone, it's time to
dance." A totally different music invaded the room at drowning
volume.  The music sounded to Nick like something he would
have expected at the Raven.

Natalie was looking down at the necklace she was now wearing,
consisting of a small black cotton bag on the end of a black silk
string.  She tried to squeeze the bag to determine the contents.

Nick felt a tingling that started in the back of his head and
worked its way down his spine.  The voices in his head were
starting again, but this time they were barely a whisper.  As he
grabbed a nearby chair to steady himself, he heard the voices
giving way to a single heartbeat which was growing louder and
louder.  It was calling to a familiar part of him that he tried hard
to restrain.  The vampire suddenly took over, giving his body a
new strength and leading him across the room.  In a matter of
seconds, he was standing in front of Natalie.

Sammie smiled at Nick and released Natalie's arm.  "Good.
Dance," she whispered.


End Part 5.
ALL HALLOW'S EVE (6/6)
by Sarah Baker (zeke@rt66.com)


Natalie looked up from the necklace, surprised to find Nick only
inches from her face.  He placed one arm around her waist and
pulled her toward the middle of the room.  When they were
surrounded by other writhing bodies, he stopped walking and
pulled her closer.  With his free hand he ran his fingers slowly
up her arm.

Natalie was stunned by Nick's action.  She looked into his eyes,
trying to figure out what he was doing.  Although the light was
dim, she could see a light shade of blue pulsing around the
edges of his irises.  It was the strangest sight, and quite
interesting to watch.  For some reason, she was unable, or
unwilling to stop staring at the phenomenon.  Natalie felt a
tingling in her arm following Nick's fingers slowly towards her
shoulder.  She didn't notice when her body started swaying
perfectly with his.

The people around Nick and Natalie began to move away from
them, giving them room to dance.  They weren't actually
dancing, but their movements were sensuous and fascinating.
When Natalie was as close to Nick as she could possibly get, he
turned her around in a liquid movement and held her back
against him as they continued to sway.  By this time his eyes
were burning a vampire blue.  His lip curled back in a snarl to
reveal his fangs.  There were several gasps around the couple.

As the music continued, Natalie leaned back on Nick and closed
her eyes.  She felt like she was floating in a dark space.  Nick
was pulling the collar of her dress slowly over her shoulder to
reveal the side of her bare neck.  He held her tighter as he
stroked the skin on her neck with his fingers, leaning his mouth
close to her ear.  Natalie felt his cool breath at the top of her
neck and shuddered.  When she felt his lips, and then the tips of
his fangs on the skin of her neck, the vampire's spell was
suddenly broken.  Natalie realized with horror what was going
on, and had no idea what to do.

In a matter of half a second, the night so far flashed in front of
Natalie's eyes.  What could have happened to Nick to cause this
whole scene?  He had told her that they were looking for
something  and she had gone off to look.  Instead of finding
anything, she had been stopped by Sammie who gave her this
strange necklace.  The necklace.  Could that be what was
causing this?  As the thought entered Natalie's head, her hand
responded by jerking the necklace from her neck.  At the same
instant, she heard a gasp from Nick and he moved his mouth
away from her neck.  The song ended.

Nick and Natalie froze, and were greeted with a round of
applause from the people around them.  Nick turned Natalie
back around by the shoulders and looked at her with total
surprise.  As soon as she was sure he was himself again, Natalie
smiled sheepishly at the crowd around her and then turned back
to Nick.

"What happened?" they asked each other simultaneously.
Natalie looked down at the small bag in her hand.  "I think I
found it," she said.

As the next song started, the crowd around them began dancing
again.  Nick took Natalie by the arm and started toward the
door.  "I think we had better leave," he muttered.  As they
walked, Natalie opened the black bag and emptied the contents
into her hand.  She picked her ring out of mixture, and slipped it
back on her finger.  The rest of the ingredients she put carefully
back in the bag.

One of the partiers grabbed Nick's elbow on the way to the door.
"Fantastic costume, man.  Real convincing!" he said.  Nick
responded with a glare.  At the door, they found Sammie
smiling at them as she sipped punch.

"So, in a hurry to leave are we?" Sammie asked suggestively.

With an edge of annoyance, Natalie replied, "May we have our
coats?"

"Sure."  Sammie disappeared into a back room.  Natalie and
Nick fidgeted at the door, moving around to make way for
incoming guests.  Sammie reappeared with their coats and
leaned to Natalie as she handed them over.

"See?  I told you we could get you past just 'dating' if we
worked on it," she whispered.

"Sammie, don't <ever> work on <anything> for me again!"
Natalie's volume startled Sammie and several of the people
nearby.  Nick grabbed her by the elbow and dragged her out the
door.

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

Natalie threw her coat on the sofa as she and Nick entered her
apartment.  She walked into the kitchen, dumping the contents
of the black bad into her hand again so that she could examine
them under a good light.  Nick followed her in.  As Natalie
picked carefully at the mixture, Nick leaned on the counter.

"Natalie, I'm sorry about what happened."

"Hmm," she replied.  She was trying to sort the fibers from the
other ingredients.

"I'm beginning to hate Halloween," Nick sighed.

"I think these must be pieces of your hair."  Natalie held her
hand in front of Nick and pointed.  "I can't really tell what the
rest of the stuff is.  It sort of looks like...."  Her voice trailed off
as she held her hand closer to her eyes.

The doorbell rang.  Natalie glanced at the kitchen clock.  "Trick-
or- treaters this late?  Nick, can you get that?"  She nodded
toward the door.  "There's a bowl of candy by the door."

Nick walked quickly to the door.  He opened it to find four
giggling teenagers.  He wasn't able to decipher two of the
costumes, but he did recognized a Klingon and a witch.

"Out a little late, aren't we?"  Nick asked with one eyebrow
raised.

"Trick-or-treat!" the four yelled in unison.

Nick thought about this choice as he grinned at the visitors.  It
was awfully tempting...

"Nick, don't you dare!" he heard from the kitchen.


THE END