From sclark@best.com Tue Jul 28 11:39:39 1998 Date: Sun, 12 Jul 1998 19:05:25 -0700 From: clark To: fkfanfic@merlin.darkmage.net Subject: Fangs for the Memories Permission given to archive at fkfanfic website as well as FTP site. No other permission is granted to repost/reprint/reuse. If you're interested, drop me a line. Love it/hate it/whatever, feedback is always welcomed. This story is based on characters and situations that aren't mine. Thanks to TPTB for their use. Fangs for the Memories by S. Clark Nick barged into the outer reception area of the Coroner's office. Natalie Lambert happened to be there speaking with her friend and co-worker, Grace Balthazar. Nick walked to the door of Natalie's lab and gave her a 'come here' motion as he stood in front of the door. Natalie rolled her eyes at Grace. "If you'll excuse me, I'm being beckoned." "And I'm sure you'll hate every second of it," said Grace, winking at Nick. Natalie followed Nick into the lab shutting the door behind her. "I'm just sure you will," Grace repeated to herself. "Nick, what is it?" Natalie was tired and was fairly sure that came through in her tone of voice. She didn't appreciate him feeling he could barge in at any time and order her attention. "Thith ith more imphoran thah gothipping with Grath," he said softly, almost below the range of her hearing. "Nick, could you repeat that?" He mumbled something equally unintelligible. "Ok, one more time. How about speaking at a level humans can hear?" "My fangth," he said quietly. "Your thanks?" she said, repeating what she'd heard. "My fangth," he said again, louder. "Oh, your fangs? What about them? And why are you talking so funny tonight?" Nick let out a sigh. "Thah're thuck." "Excuse me?" "I thaid my fangth are thuck." Natalie stifled a chuckle. "Ith nah fuhny," he said, face petulant. "How am I thuppothed to wahrk like thith?" "And you think they'll notice?" Nick scowled at her. "Ok, I'm sorry." She smiled at him hoping it might lighten his mood. "Nick, we'll work on this." She placed one hand under his chin and with the other attempted to lift up his top lip to get a closer look. "How do these things work, anyway?" Nick pulled his face away. "I dahn know." "Surely you have some idea." "Theh juth wahrk. Theh're phar of tha vamph're." "Nick, you haven't been..." she struggled for a word, "hunting?" He rubbed his hand lightly on her upper arm. "Noh," he smiled. An odd smile with a mouth full of fangs but a reassuring smile in any case. "Ok, then." She relaxed slightly. "Let's go back. What was happening before?" "Behfore wha?" he asked. "Before this." She gestured towards his mouth. "Oh, thith." Natalie rolled her eyes. "Um, leth thee. I wath borh. I when to Waleth. Than came tha Cruthadeth." "Nick?" "Yeth?" "Perhaps we should fast forward to just before the fangs dropped and skip all the bits in-between." He nodded and promptly zoned out. She slapped his shoulder. "Nick? I don't have all night. I am at work." He nodded. "Do you remember what you were thinking of?" He nodded again. "Will you tell me already?" He stared to nod, then changed to shake his head no. "Nick?" He remembered all right. He was thinking of Natalie. Of he and Natalie, as things might be. And then of he and Janette, as things had been. Recently. And then of he and Alyssa, as things could have been. And then, well, the list was fairly extensive. "Nick?" she repeated. "Ith pherthanal." "Pherthanal?" He glared at her. "Personal?" she corrected herself. "Ith abou, you know." "I know?" "You know." He gestured, waving his hands around as if that might make her understand. "I don't have time for this, Nick." she said, copying the gesture. Natalie turned to her desk and switched on the computer monitor. "If you're not going to cooperate I have work to do." "Thex," he said in a soft voice. "What?" "I thaid thex." She smiled. She'd heard him fine the first time she just wanted to hear him repeat it." She turned to face him and placed her hand on his silk shirt, right below the collar. "Sex?" she asked. She slowly started walking her fingers down his chest. He grabbed her hand and held it in his own. "Thith ithn fuhny, Nat." "Of course not." She cleared her throat. "Let's see." She pulled her hand back and held it against the bridge of her nose. "Thinking about sex," she said the word tentatively, looking for any reaction from him, "put you into this condition. Perhaps thinking of things that are a turnoff could get you out." "Tha migh wahrk," he said, nodding in agreement. "Ok, what's a turnoff for a vampire?" He shrugged. "Great." She thought a moment. "Sunlight?" He shook his head no. "Stakes?" Again he shook his head. "LaCroix?" He shrugged. "I don't want to know this," she muttered to herself. "Let's see. What would I do," she pondered that thought before continuing, looking away from his face, his slight smile. "Theoretically, of course" He nodded, agreeing with her, forcing away the smile. She continued, "if I were in a similar state." She began ticking off the events of her last evening off. "I would, again, theoretically," he tilted his head in her direction in acknowledgment, "probably find some exciting literature on forensic practices." She looked expectantly at him. He showed her some fang. "Great. Ok. Then, perhaps, make a nice cup of hot cocoa." He shook his head no at her expectant look. "Snuggle up in my fuzzy pink robe." He had a look about his face, something akin to what she saw whenever she waved a protein shake under his nose. "Nick?" He nodded. "Anything?" He shook his head but wouldn't meet her gaze. She pinched his nose shut. "I don't have to breath you know," he said in a smug voice. "Nick!" She slapped him again across the shoulder. "What?" He thought about it for a moment, then covered his mouth. "It's not what you think," he mumbled through his hands. She pointed towards the door. "Get out." "Let me explain, Nat." "Out," she repeated firmly. He obeyed. The door closed behind him. Then opened again, just a crack. "How bad of trouble am I in?" came his voice from the other side. "Pretty bad," she said. "Roses?" he asked. "Get out, Nick." The door shut. Natalie sighed. She couldn't altogether blame him for the effect her robe had on his libido. What she didn't tell him was her own thoughts for his red and black dressing gown. Whenever she got in a similar state thinking of him in that article of clothing worked every time. It worked to put all such thoughts out of her head.