Subject: Accidents 01/05
Date: Wed, 22 Mar 2000 09:33:14 +1200
From: Knightraven <knightraven@CLEAR.NET.NZ>
To: FKFIC-L@LISTS.PSU.EDU

This for all of you wonderful people who have been bugging me about getting
this next episode out on the fiberoptic airwaves!<eg>
It's number 16 in the Nicky series and begins after 'Daddy Dearest'.

Many thanks to my faithful, hard working and whip-toting beta readers!
Cousin Jules and Heather-Anne.<eg>

Permission granted to Mel Moser and the Ftp site to archive. All previous
stories can be found at my website
http://home.clear.net.nz/pages/knightraven
Enjoy!

Accidents
by Knightraven
copyright 2000

Part 1

"So you think this will really work?" Erik asked a rather uncertain coroner.
"Well, it worked for Nick. But I really don't know how it will react in your
individual system," Natalie confessed. "But it won't kill you; I can at
least assure you of that. So if you're game enough to give it a try, then
it's all yours." She gave him a wary smile.
"How long will it last if it does work?" The question came from the slight
woman standing against the gurney, holding the red-headed vampire's hand who
sat uncomfortably upon it.
"I really don't know, Beth, except, again, for Nick, the first dose stayed
in effect for just over 12 hours."
Nick stood against his wife's desk and watched as she began to set up a tray
holding a syringe and a small bottle which held a dose of the formula. He
wasn't entirely happy about doing this, but Erik and Beth had been so
adamant and had pleaded so forcefully for he and Natalie to help them
conceive a child that they had been unable to deny the couple's fondest
wish. Nick had met Erik over two centuries ago and had kept up a firm
friendship ever since.
Erik was one of the few vampires he had contact with who did not see humans
purely as a food source. Though he drank human blood and still killed on
occasion, Erik was the closet thing to a partner in crime he had ever had in
his very unvampiric ways. There was just one difference between them...Erik
never, at any stage, desired to become human again. However, nine years ago
he met and bonded with Beth. True love had kept them together for all these
years. But now, before Erik was to bring his mate across, they both felt the
intense mortal need to conceive a child, Beth especially.
Enter Nicholas and Natalie Knight, mortal vampire father and doctor to the
undead.

Just as Natalie was about to push the needle into Erik's arm, he pulled
away.
"Ah, Nick. I think you had better do this. You know how I can be when I'm
bit, and I have no wish to harm Natalie," he said seriously, though with a
hint of a smile as he glanced toward the doctor.
Nick pushed away from the desk and took the syringe Natalie held out for
him.
He then quickly and easily inserted the needle. He was startled, suddenly,
from pushing the contents into Erik when the lab door was slammed open and
his sire flew in.
The ancient grabbed Nick's hand and yanked the needle from Erik's arm.
"What do you think you are doing?!!" He yelled the words slowly, his anger
clear as he made no attempt to mask his fury.
Erik slipped from the table and stumbled back a step. Lacroix was looking at
Nick, but he knew he was not being excluded from this demand.
"Lacroix..." Erik began, hoping to explain.
"Silence!!" the vampire snarled, whipping his head to glare at the young
vampire. Or maybe he was.
"Nicholas?!" It was clear Lacroix was demanding an answer from his son.
Nick straightened his shoulders, determined not to cower before his master,
no matter how intense the anger radiating through their link was affecting
him.
"Erik and Beth wish to have a child," he told him. Lacroix just glared at
him, seemingly speechless for several seconds. But when he spoke, it was
with all the fury and power he had brought with him.
"Do you have any idea what you have done?!!" he asked his son, then turned
to include everyone else present.
"We are trying to create a life..." Nick began to explain, raising his voice
righteously. A raging hand slapped across his face, sending him staggering
into an equipment tray, clattering a collection of scalpels to the floor.
"You naive fool!!" Lacroix snarled, closing his eyes briefly in his
disbelief.
"How? Why can't we do this?!" Nick yelled back, his own anger rising at
being humiliated before his peers.
"Because, my impetuous child, you have now brought unwanted attention upon
yourselves. Attention you have no wish ever to have!!" Lacroix told them
firmly, holding his gaze meaningfully to his son's.
"Now...do you quite understand?!" he demanded of them.
Nick closed his eyes and sighed. Enforcers. They must know. How, he didn't
know, but obviously Lacroix had been informed of their knowledge and had
come to stop them.
"I didn't think..." Nick began, only to be forcefully interrupted.
"No, Nicholas...you never think," his sire growled. He had the formula in
his hand and lifted it to crush it within his palm. Beth saw what he was
about to do and launched herself at him.
"No! You can't...!!" she screamed. Lacroix was about to backhand the mortal
away, when Erik moved to stop him.
"No, don't! You'll hurt her!" He shoved Lacroix away from his mate. Nick saw
his sire about to release himself on the younger vampire and moved in to
stop him.
"Wait! Lacroix!" But it was too late. Nick only managed to deflect the
ancient's weight as he charged Erik, and it sent them all tumbling to the
floor in a tangled heap.

Lacroix was suddenly very still.

Sensing this, Erik and Nick also ceased their struggles. Lacroix slowly
pulled away  from the body beneath him and looked down to his abdomen to
stare at the protruding needle.
The syringe was empty.
"Oh no," Nick breathed over Lacroix's shoulder as he and Erik both saw the
syringe stabbed into the ancient vampire.
"Hold still!" Natalie ordered, though the vampires had yet to move. She
reached forward and slowly removed the needle from Lacroix's body.
"Tell me that was not what I think it was," Lacroix very quietly demanded.
No one answered.
"There is  a good chance it won't even work, " Natalie said quickly. "It was
designed to Nick's blood and DNA, so it may not have any effect at all."
"You had better hope not, doctor," the vampire growled. Then with a snarl,
he demanded,
"Get off me!"
Nick quickly rose and made to help Lacroix to his feet, but was harshly
shoved away.
"I think you have helped quite enough, Nicholas." He took a step toward the
doorway and suddenly grasped for a solid surface as he became dizzy and
staggered. Nick made a grab for him as a tray of instruments clattered to
the floor.
"Lacroix?"

Lacroix had felt himself falling but could do nothing about it as the room
spun out of control. He shook his head and his vision cleared enough for him
to know he was now lying on the floor with his son hovering over him.
Natalie pushed Nick away so she could get closer to the ancient. This was
unusual. Nick hadn't reacted this way to the Formula. In fact, he hadn't
even felt himself change until it was over. Definitely nothing like this.
"Lacroix, what's going on?" she asked him, as he continued to blink and try
to clear his head.
"Lacroix?" she asked again when he failed to respond.
"Dizzy. I can not focus my eyes..." he admitted. Natalie quickly began
taking his blood pressure and vitals. Nothing.  Vampire normal.  He had not
reverted or become mortal. What was happening to him?
Suddenly Lacroix sighed as his vision cleared and the room stopped spinning
wildly, everything settling down to normal. A moment later he pushed himself
to his feet, holding onto the gurney for support until he felt able to move
without becoming dizzy again. Intense fatigue now ensued, and he felt
himself begin to tremble with the effort to remain standing.
"Um, I think it's time we left," Erik announced timidly as he herded his
mortal away from the trio and toward the lab door. Lacroix allowed them to
leave.
"Do not think this is the end of our little discussion, Erik," Lacroix
warned him as he pushed his mate through the door. Erik nodded respectfully,
then quickly disappeared.
"Are you okay?" Nick asked his sire, placing a hand upon his arm. Lacroix
shrugged it off.
"Quite." Lacroix unsteadily moved toward the exit himself. He turned back to
his son and daughter-in-law. Snarling, he told them,
"Get rid of it,"  referring to the Formula. "Everything. Notes, samples, and
the serum itself. This is your only warning, then it is out of my hands. For
once, Nicholas, do as I say...I have no wish to be raising your son as well
as my own!"
With that warning and threat, he flew from the room, the doors swinging
forcefully at his departure.
Nick looked to Natalie, who, in turn, was staring at him. Then, without a
word, they moved as one to retrieve and systematically destroy all of
Natalie's data and samples pertaining to the successful experiment.

Lacroix finally dragged himself up the front stairs of the new home he and
Jordan had purchased.
The house had expansive views of the lake and parkland bordering the
property, which gave them a sense of relaxation which had been unobtainable
living over the club.
It had taken only one look for them both to decide this was to be theirs.
The two-storey Victorian villa had been painstakingly renovated with
tasteful decor and fine wooden floors. He had ordered a container of
furniture and carpets to be brought from his storage in London to complete
the traditional style.

He fumbled with his key and punched in the code to let himself in. The house
was empty, with Jordan at the Raven supervising the reopening of the
night-club. Liam was with young Nicholas and their caregiver, Miss Simms,
happily doing whatever it was they did when left on their own.
Dropping his keys on the table inside the door, he heard the door click shut
behind him as he shook his coat from his shoulders and let it fall to the
floor as he walked toward the stairs which led up to the bedrooms.
He had never felt so exhausted without severe injury before, ever.
He could only follow the overwhelming need to find his bed and lie down.
Reaching his room, he toed off his shoes and peeled his jacket off before
falling ungracefully onto the bed. He didn't remember hitting the pillow, as
he was asleep by the time his head touched it.

Natalie held the phone to her ear as  she waited for someone to pick up the
other end.
"Raven!" a voice shouted over the blaring music in the background.
"Jordan there?" she asked. She heard the phone clunk down then lift again.
"Hello?"
"It's Natalie."
"Oh, hi, Nat! What can I do for you?" The background noise lessened
dramatically as Jordan walked into the office and closed the door.
"Jord, something happened tonight," Natalie told her.
"What?" the woman said, instantly alert.
"Um, ah...How can I say this? Lacroix was inadvertently injected with the
formula," Natalie somewhat haltingly told her.
"WHAT?!" Natalie cringed as she could practically see the shocked expression
on the woman's face.
"The thing is, I don't know if it will work or not, and well, he wasn't
looking his best when he left. I need you to find him and monitor him for
the rest of the night."
"Oh, my god, Nat. He's going to be furious!" Jordan told her.
"I know. I don't know what to do. We can only hope it doesn't work at all,"
Natalie replied. She bit her bottom lip as she heard the woman sigh heavily.
"Okay, Nat. I'll find him and see if he's okay. I'll call you when I do."
"Thanks, Jordan...and we are really sorry."
"Yeah, Nat, I know," Jordan told her. They hung up and Jordan grabbed her
bag and removed her apron as she made her way to the car.

"Lucien?!" Jordan called out as she entered the house. She had guessed
correctly that he would have come home. She picked up his coat from the
floor and hung it on the coat rack before hurrying upstairs when he didn't
answer her.
"Lucien?" she said, entering the bedroom and seeing him sprawled on the bed,
fast asleep.
"Lucien?" She gently shook his shoulder to try and wake him. He didn't as
much as twitch. Jordan shook him much harder and he finally stirred.
"Hmm?" Lying on his front, he lifted his head and looked around, looking for
all the world like their five-year-old child when he woke. He was obviously
still out of it. Jordan helped him into a sitting position and began to
unbutton his shirt. His head lolled and his eyes closed, but he still seemed
to follow the commands she was giving him in order to help her undress him.
Once he was naked, she pulled back the covers and pushed him back into bed.
She brushed a hand over his forehead to test his temperature. He felt the
same as he always did, and other than this enervation, he seemed to be
normal enough.
He was sleeping again, so she left him to call Natalie.
"Other than extreme fatigue, he seems fine so far. It doesn't seemed to have
worked," she told the coroner.
Natalie sighed with relief. Nick had become mortal by now, so with a bit of
luck, Lacroix wouldn't change at all.
"Good. But still keep an eye on him for the rest of the night, and call me
if there is the slightest change."
They said their good-byes and hung up.
Jordan turned back to her husband and sighed heavily. He was not going to be
happy when he woke.
Deciding there wasn't much else she could do, she opted for an early day
herself and changed into her nightclothes and slid into bed beside him.

He woke slowly, his head still feeling decidedly heavy and befuddled as the
darkened room came into focus. He raised a hand to his eyes and rubbed his
face up over his brow. He exhaled a deep breath and opened his eyes again.
It was still dark outside, and he wasn't sure what time of day it was. He
reached out with his senses but still couldn't determine if the sun was
rising or setting. He glanced over to his wife sleeping at his side and
smiled as he always did whenever he watched her sleep.
He was hungry. Slipping from the bed, he plodded his heavier than normal
feet over to his wetbar and pulled out a bottle from the fridge. He decided
to forgo a glass and placed it to his lips and took a swig. He immediately
spat it out and gagged at the disgusting taste in his mouth. He looked at
the label, making sure it wasn't one of his son's old bovine bottles and to
make sure it hadn't gone off. But it was indeed one of his own reserves. He
put it back in the fridge and pulled out another. He spat that one out as
well. Great! That innocuous formula was going to starve him to death!
"Jordan!" he growled.
Jordan was awake instantly.
"What? Are you okay?"
"No! I can not eat," he told her, frowning as he attempted to hold back his
anger from unleashing itself on her. She did not deserve his wrath.
Jordan rose and came over to him, switching on a bedside lamp as she moved.
She took the bottle from his hand and lifted a hand to feel his forehead.
She snatched her hand back, then slapped it to his head again, before moving
it over his arms and chest.
"Lucien...you're warm," she gasped.
"No, I am not," he denied.
"Yes, you are," she huffed firmly.
"I believe I need to sit down," he said, moving back to the bed and quickly
lowering himself to the mattress.
Jordan followed and placed a hand to his chest. Sure enough, she felt it.
Bompbomp...Bompbomp...Bompbomp...a steady...human...heartbeat.
She rose her eyes to her husband's and stared. Then, with widened eyes,
gasped,
"Lucien...you're mortal,"

End part 1

knightraven@clear.net.nz
http://home.clear.net.nz/pages/knightraven

Subject: Accidents 02/05
Date: Thu, 23 Mar 2000 09:25:16 +1200
From: Knightraven <knightraven@CLEAR.NET.NZ>
To: FKFIC-L@LISTS.PSU.EDU

Part 2

He sighed and flopped back onto the bed, placing a hand over his eyes. He
then turned over and crawled back under the covers with the pretense of
sleeping for the next 12 hours.
"Lucien?"
"Hmm?"
"Are you all right?"
"Never better," he said, the sarcasm fairly dripping upon the bedclothes.
"Well, look on the bright side. We can go out for the day," she told him,
rising from the bed.
"I am going nowhere," he replied sharply. Jordan pulled the sheets from his
head.
"Come on. Why don't you want to go outside?"
"Because I am MORTAL!" he yelled at her, rising to sit upright, before
flopping back down and closing his eyes.
"So?"
"I have no wish to end my existence at this point in time," he said harshly.
"Oh, don't be such a baby. You are not going to die if you venture out for
one day. Well, not if you stick with me, anyway."
He moaned and rolled away from her, pulling the bedclothes with him. Jordan
smiled and pulled the covers away from him again.
"Please?" She gave him a pleading smile. "I want to share this with you. It
could be the only chance we ever have," she told him softly, lowering
herself to sit beside him, placing a hand on his hip.
Lacroix rolled back over to stare up at his wife for a moment before
reluctantly sitting up and letting her help him to his feet. Jordan pulled
his head down for a kiss, and it quickly grew passionate as they found the
sensation so different from before, yet so wonderfully familiar.
Jordan felt his arousal grow more evident as he pressed against her. She
smiled and dropped a hand down to touch him.
Lacroix groaned and pulled her back down to the bed.
He realized then how much he already missed his enhanced abilities. He was
once able to feel every silken pore of her body, where now, although as
delightful as silk, he missed a part of her he had fallen in love with.
Jordan's inner fire revealed itself in her very touch. But what he marveled
in was the intense desire to couple with her without the aching hunger or
desperation to bite her.  He explored her body as though it were virgin
territory, tasting and pleasuring every inch he could lay his hands and
mouth upon.
Jordan ran her hands over his warm shoulders and down his neck to his broad
chest and  began her own journey of discovery. Before long, they had worked
themselves into a passionate frenzy. Lacroix rolled them over and eased
himself inside her, closing his eyes and grunting as he took them slowly to
the first climax of the morning. When he peaked it was, for the first time
in two thousand years, without the necessity of taking blood.
Jordan clutched his back and cried out as she felt him climax within her,
joining him in their first taste of mortal pleasure.

They kissed and stroked each other for a time, slowly recovering from the
new experience.
"I believe I am still hungry," Lacroix announced after a time. Jordan
chuckled. She pushed the sheet back and climbed over her husband and turned
back to drag him out of bed as well.
"Come on, the sun will be up soon, and we can't miss it!" she exclaimed,
continuing to pull him toward the shower.

Clean and clothed, Jordan gave him a quick going over. He was in his usual
black, and though he looked as delicious as usual, he looked as though he
were attending a funeral. Black was just not a day thing, not unless you
were 19 and had a thing for excessive body piercing.
"We will have to go shopping right after breakfast," she announced.
He just stared at her, then at himself. He shrugged.  As far as he was
concerned, he looked fine.
Jordan took his hand and led him downstairs to the kitchen.
"Is there anything you would like to try?" she asked him, motioning to the
pantry and fridge.
Lacroix pulled a small smile as he went to the pantry and pulled out Liam's
Rice Bubbles. Jordan laughed and got out a couple of bowls from the overhead
cupboard.
She let him pour his own milk and they sat and listened to the cereal snap,
crackle and pop, just like they said it did. She watched as her husband
tentatively picked up the spoon and scooped up a small portion. After a
'here goes nothing' look, he placed it in his mouth. He chewed
instinctively, then swallowed. His next spoonful was much bigger. Jordan
grinned as the ancient began to almost shovel the cereal into his mouth. The
picture of him eating was bizarre and amusing, and as he kept up the
onslaught, she had to slow him down a bit.
"Take it easy. Remember, your stomach hasn't eaten for 2000 years," she
quipped, and he slowed down a little, chewing each mouthful properly.
"What else is there?" he asked, having thoroughly cleaned his bowl.
"Um...croissant?" Jordan suggested. He nodded and she gently heated a couple
of pastries and set them down before them both. Fruit and coffee soon
followed before they left the kitchen and headed outside to stand in the
back garden, ready to watch the sun rise up over the hills to the east.

They huddled for warmth, though both had thrown on their respective coats.
Lacroix, for the first time, was wearing his for practicality rather than
appearances' sake.
When the first shades of purple turned quickly to red and gold rays crept
slowly across the sky, sliding into a beautiful dance of light as they
waltzed with the small collection of clouds blowing in from the west, Jordan
turned in his arms to watch him face his first sunrise.
His body stiffened as his ingrained fear of the sun caused him to flinch,
but a moment later his lips parted and he stared in awe at the fantastic
sight before him. It was something he had believed he would never see again.
He didn't know what came over him. It was just a sunrise...but he couldn't
draw himself away. He felt his wife place her head against his chest and
hold him more tightly, and he wrapped his arms around her, holding her
closer still. He quickly wiped the tear from his cheek, never taking his
eyes off the rapidly changing sky and the brilliant globe of light rising to
fill the earth with light and warmth.
"Thank you," he whispered to her, leaning down to brush his lips against her
hair.
"I love you," Jordan breathed, looking up into his eyes, now gold again,
only this time it was the sun shining in his eyes, not his hunger.
"And I you, mon coeur," he replied, ducking his head to smile into her
depths of green.

They stood gazing at the sun as it rose triumphantly higher into the sky,
bringing another day to the city of Toronto.
Jordan pulled him by the hand back into the house.
"Let's go shopping...then we should perhaps visit your son and his
troublemaking family! I promised Natalie I would tell her if anything had
changed," she said with a grin. Lacroix raised an eyebrow at the mention of
his family, whom he was still rather annoyed at for putting him through this
fiasco to begin with.
But when he spoke, he said,
"Why must we shop?"
"First and most importantly...clothes...for you. You look like you're going
to a funeral."
"I probably am," he muttered as they entered the kitchen and made their way
to the garage where the car was kept.
Jordan chuckled and hurried him along as she watched him sulk toward the new
jag and slip into the front passenger seat.

Lacroix stared constantly out the window as they drove through he streets
toward downtown.
"Everything appears so different...so much color...yet all so familiar," he
said quietly. There were so many more people about, children playing and
running through the snow on their way to school. Parents hurrying to
work...and the traffic...mortals apparently spent half their meager lives
sitting at a standstill. But soon enough they entered the main shopping
district, and Jordan deftly parked the car in a parking building, where they
had rented a parking space for when Jordan came in during the day.
Walking up and out onto street level, Lacroix was assaulted by the sheer
number of moving bodies. It had little to do with any vampiric urges, but
the mere fact it was almost claustrophobic.
"You okay?" his wife asked, taking his arm gently when he froze outside the
doorway. Squinting in the bright sunshine, he nodded, finding he was
adjusting quickly to the stimulus about him. The constant droning of traffic
was becoming part of the background. Learning to filter out the abundance of
intrusive stimuli was a skill he learnt early as a vampire. Taking a deep
breath, he nodded and followed her as they joined the steady stream of
people to walk toward the menswear store at  the end of the block.
Lacroix had only ever ventured here after dark, the store, especially in the
summer months, often opening especially for him. Otherwise, he would have
his personal tailor come to offer his wares to him at the club.
Walking inside brought great relief from the constant street noise and
moving bodies. It was warmer, as well, and they both pulled off their coats
and gloves, hanging them on a coatrack beside the door.
"Ah! Monsieur and Madame Lacroix!" The store clerk greeted them loudly and
heartily as he crossed the shop floor toward them.
"What brings you to my boutique so early in the day?" the young, slender man
asked.
"Pierre," Jordan said and smiled at the exuberant salesman. He was the
epitome of the flamboyant, impeccably dressed, and most likely gay, tailor.
He was also the best in town.
"As you can see, we have an emergency," she stated, slipping a cheeky smile
toward her husband. Lacroix glared at her, then the clerk as the man replied
in his heavily accented French,
"Oui, oui, a very big emergency indeed. Tuttutut! You wear so much black?"
"I like black," Lacroix said, though was totally ignored.
"No, no! This can not be done," Pierre said imperviously, circling Lacroix,
flapping at his clothing and how he was wearing it, pulling here, tugging
there. Lacroix continued glaring, his arms firmly crossed over his chest.
But the clerk was paying him no heed; his entire focus was on the Roman's
form and clothing. With a finger on his lips, Pierre asked,
"Vat look are you after?" He pointedly asked Jordan, much to Lacroix's
growing annoyance.
"Casual."
"I do not do casual," Lacroix tried to intone, but still heedless, the pair
went off to hunt the racks for his new look. Lacroix sighed and mentally
gave up, flopping down into a nearby lounge chair. He felt almost totally
out of control, and he didn't like it.
Jordan came back shortly and thrust an armful of clothing at him.
"Here. Try these on," she told him. Resigned to his fate, he just rose and
headed toward the changing room.
When he emerged, Jordan smiled and turned to Pierre, who was also cheerfully
clasping his hands together grinning proudly.
"You're a genius, Pierre!" Jordan gave his cheek a quick kiss and went over
to her husband who was still looking at himself in the mirror.
Blue jeans, cream shirt, brown leather jacket and street shoes to match.
"You look great," Jordan said, coming up behind him and caressing his
denim-clad behind.
"I look mortal," he admonished.
"Yeah, well, just for today...you are." She wasn't quite sure what he was
thinking as he quietly smoothed down his shirt front and looked up at
himself in the mirror.
Just as quietly he turned and headed toward the door. Jordan hurried to keep
up with him as he exited the store and went out onto the street.
"Just put it on our account, Pierre!" she yelled and waved to the man.
When his wife caught up with him, he told her coldly,
"I believe it is time to pay my son a visit."

End part 2

knightraven@clear.net.nz
http://home.clear.net.nz/pages/knightraven

Subject: Accidents 03/05
Date: Thu, 23 Mar 2000 09:26:13 +1200
From: Knightraven <knightraven@CLEAR.NET.NZ>
To: FKFIC-L@LISTS.PSU.EDU

Part 3

Lacroix leapt out of the car the moment it had stopped and punched in the
alarm code for the loft. The door clunked open, and he impatiently pushed it
open and entered the lift and waited for his wife to scurry in.
"Remember...you promised not to lose your temper. It was an accident."
"I promised no such thing," he spat back as the lift began to rise.
Jordan sighed. It was like trying to control a Spanish bull. The lift
stopped, and he wrenched open the door and strode into the loft. Without
pause, he strode to the stairs and ascended to the bedroom. Lacroix
hesitated for the barest of moments after opening the door and seeing his
son and daughter-in-law sleeping peacefully. But his anger soon took over,
and he grabbed Nick from the bed and dragged him to the floor.

Nick, of course, woke suddenly and bared his fangs at the intruder.
His immediate assessment of the intruder was that it was a mortal.
"You little bastard!" he heard a familiar voice shout. Lacroix. Good.  He
would rid him of this annoying mortal!
"Look what you have done!" Lacroix growled into this face."
Nick woke up a little more.
"Lacroix?"
"I should kill you for this!"
"Lucien! Calm down!" Jordan tried to placate the raging man. He shrugged her
hand off and shook his son once again.
Nick was wide awake by now, as was Natalie, who was sitting up in bed
watching the whole scene play out before her. Nick growled and frowned,
becoming angry himself.
"It was an accident, damn it!" he bellowed into the ancient's face.
"Why you...!" Lacroix punched Nick once in the face as he knelt over him,
pinning him to the floor. But that was all Nick allowed. With a roar, he
shoved his master forcefully away.

Lacroix flew across the room and slammed heavily against the bedroom wall
with a sickening thud. He fell to the ground and lay still.
Nick froze as he realized what he had just done. Jordan ran to her husband,
and Natalie quickly rose from the bed and joined her.
The now human Lacroix was lying on his front, gasping desperately for air.
He managed to get onto his hands and knees, but still, he could barely
breathe. A slight panic crossed his face as he looked to his wife. Natalie
began to feel his throat and chest, but was unable to feel any damage,
barring a growing bruise against his shoulderblades, so she slowly rubbed
his back. He was winded, badly, but he would be fine. And sure enough, his
gasping breaths became deeper, and he finally eased himself to sit against
the wall.
Nick was soon by his side.
"I'm sorry," he said sincerely, anxiously looking his father over for any
permanent injury.
"I...will...be...fine," Lacroix said breathlessly as he saw the genuine
concern in his son's eyes. He disavowed no more weakness than was absolutely
necessary, even though in his current state as a mortal, he was always going
to be as weak as a kitten compared to the masterful strength he had
commanded a mere day before.

Jordan stood and placed her hands on her hips. The tension between the pair
had dissipated as they both came to terms with Lacroix's unnatural state.
"Now, are you two quite through?" she asked them firmly. Their confrontation
was apparently over whether they liked it or not. They both nodded curtly,
avoiding eye contact with the other.
"Good, because it is a beautiful day, and we are going to  take Liam to the
park for lunch."
"We are?" Lacroix asked her.
"Yes. So come on.  We're wasting good sunshine!" Jordan bounced on her toes
and pulled her husband up from the floor and led him out of the bedroom to
leave its occupants to return to sleep.

Nick laid back down in his bed, and placed a hand on his wife's gently
swelling belly.
"Well, that was weird," he quipped, snuggling into her hair.
"I don't know. I'm beginning to get used to weird. I haven't exactly spent
the last six years in normal-land, you know," Natalie added, her amusement
obvious.
"Are you insinuating that I am weird?" Nick asked her, pulling away
haughtily. Natalie patted his hip and rolled onto her side.
"You have no idea, Nicholas Knight," she muttered, a smile crossing her lips
as she listened to her husband splutter. Natalie screeched, then giggled as
he suddenly blew a loud, wet raspberry against the back of her neck and
wrapped his arms around her, pulling her tightly against his rapidly growing
arousal.

Jordan fetched their foster child from the downstairs bedroom where he had
been sleeping for the past few hours.
The young boy bounced out of the bedroom and took Lacroix's hand. Liam
frowned as he felt the unexpected heat coming from the man's hand.
Lacroix just smirked into the boy's wide expressive eyes and said,
"I am having a warm day." Liam seemed satisfied and happily skipped along
beside him as thy headed to the car.
The sun was high in the sky by the time they had bypassed a deli to gather a
picnic lunch and found a car park.

As Liam ran out across the grass, Jordan wrapped an arm through her
husband's and leaned against his solid form, slowly following their
energetic child.
They watched the boy smile and play, chasing birds around the park. Liam was
almost a different child from the one they had brought home only a few weeks
before, rescued from a life of foster facilities, not to mention an abusive
and disgusting pig of a father.
She and Lucien had discussed whether or not to erase Liam's memories of the
unpleasant events of the recent past, but they had both come to the decision
that, for the most part, he would retain his experience of those two days.
Their reasoning had been parallel, in that they had both seen and sensed
that Liam had gone through an evolutionary process the night his father had
returned to steal him away, one where he had somehow managed to find the
strength to face the man who had done nothing but hurt him for all of his
life and had become more than a victim of his abuse...he became a survivor.
So the only memory Lucien did alter was the one of themselves during the
attack on the Raven, injured, covered in blood and lying far too still upon
the floor.

Jordan came to a halt and took the blanket Lacroix was carrying and spread
it out on the grass. He placed the basket of food and drink in its center
and sat down with his wife. Jordan pulled out glasses and containers of
various foods, which they began to pick through, Lacroix gamely trying each
one. She then pulled out a pair of black, wrap-around sunglasses and handed
them to the man lying propped on his elbows beside her, watching their child
spin himself until he was so dizzy he fell over giggling. A small smile
graced his lips.
"Here, these will help," she said. She had grabbed them at the store, having
watched him constantly squint against the sunlight all morning. He took them
and slid them on. Smirking in his usual manner, he leant over and pulled her
down for a tender kiss.
'This is all so disgustingly mortal,' he thought. He huffed a short sharp
chuckle at himself as he realized...he didn't care.
Then shoving a bagel in his mouth, he rose to head toward Liam who was
having a hard time getting his swing to go.
Jordan grinned and laughed as she watched her husband push the joyfully
squealing child higher and higher. The boys then moved onto the seesaw. This
had Jordan rolling around on the blanket clutching her stomach. She would
have given anything for a camera.

Lacroix was having an enjoyable time frolicking with his child. Any immortal
inhibitions he had about shattering his mighty Lacroix persona melted into
the afternoon sun as he stood, smelling the air ripe with the warm scent of
wet grass clippings and the shrill call of seagulls mingled with the
laughter of his mortal child. Yesterday he would have adamantly made clear
to anyone, who would have dared asked, that he was incapable of the carefree
and jovial manner he was expressing right now. He couldn't tell them the
reason why he was acting so, what had changed in him when he had become
mortal. But all he could say was that, for this brief period, he forgot
about everything...the past two thousand years were buried deep within.  He
was living completely here and now...nothing else.

He helped the small child climb to the top of the taller kids' slide and
then waited at the bottom for him to shoot down. The expression of fright
mixed with excitement on the young face brought a grin to his own. As
shocking as it had been, Lacroix had discovered that Liam had never even
been to a park before his wife had taken him soon after the child had come
to live with them.

Finally having enough, Lacroix scooped Liam up onto his shoulders and
carried him back to the picnic, spread out, ready and waiting, and dropped
him onto the blanket so they could enjoy their meal together.
The boy was basically silent. But each day they could see his desire to
speak becoming more evident, mouthing words more often and grunting and
waving his hands about more vigorously than ever before. It was only a
matter of time.
Jordan suspected that once Liam began to talk again, they would have trouble
keeping him quiet.

Jordan watched her husband as he slowly chewed on yet another bagel. They
had all managed to inhale a selection of bagels, cheese, chicken and fresh
cream buns.
He was watching Liam again as the child ran toward the slides by himself.
"Penny for your thoughts," she asked him quietly. A smile pulled at his
lips, and he swallowed the bagel in his mouth. He glanced at the remains in
his hands as he told her softly, a melancholy, if not slightly surprised
hint to his voice,
"I suddenly recalled my mother taking me to the shore for a picnic one fine
day. My father must have been out of town..." he said, his voice trailing
off as he slipped back into the pleasant memory.
Jordan shuffled into his arms, and they lay cuddling on the blanket until it
was time to move on.
Packing up their picnic, they returned to the car and Jordan drove them all
back into town and along the waterfront.

Arriving at the CN tower, they paid their fare and rode up to the
observation area.
Stepping out, Lacroix's eyes widened slightly as he took in the incredible
view around him.
At night, all he saw were variances of lights, shadows and heat. But
now...everything was so different, so alive...another world lay before him.
He stepped closer to the window, aware his wife was watching his every move.
He then looked down to the ground. Involuntarily, he took a step back.
He hadn't felt the effects of vertigo in 2000 years...He had forgotten...or
more likely blocked out the memories of refusing to climb the old tower
fortresses he and his playmates used to play in as a child...then gripping
and keeping his gaze firmly away from the edge of the balcony as he and his
Roman senators watched the Legions return triumphantly from battle, parading
their trophies proudly through the streets of Rome.  He had spent most of
his mortal life battling viciously against this innate condition that would
leave his palms sweating and heart racing if he was at a height any higher
than his trusty steed.

"Lucien?" Jordan called quietly as she watched him look down before promptly
turning an alarming shade of pale.
"I'm fine," he said as calmly and confidently as he could.
"Shall we go down now?" she asked him in an unaccusing manner.
"Yes. Down would be good," he mumbled quickly, turning hurriedly toward the
elevator. Jordan smiled behind his retreating back, then called for Liam who
was confidently leaning over the inside rail, as far as he could, to see
down below.
She watched Lucien lean against the carriage wall and close his eyes.
"I seem to have temporarily misplaced certain memories of my mortalhood," he
finally admitted quietly.
Jordan chuckled slightly, and he opened his eyes to glare at her, then he,
too, shook his head and huffed a chuckle as he agreed that this particular
weakness of his was rather pathetic...considering he had been flying at
altitudes of thousands of feet for the past two millennia.

"What shall we do now?" she asked him as they walked toward the car.
"Let us return home," he suggested, wrapping an arm around his wife and
pulling her close, while dragging his bouncing child along with the other.
"Okay, but first we have to stop and get some ice cream!" she said
excitedly, pulling away slightly as, on his other side, Liam grabbed his
hand and shook it, grinning in agreement.
"Very well. Ice cream, it is."

"I feel ill," Lacroix moaned, holding his stomach and flopping down onto the
living room couch. Liam mimicked his movements and theatrical stomach
rubbing.
Jordan couldn't help but laugh at the sight.
"Well, they didn't call it 'Death by Chocolate' for nothing," she admonished
the pair.
"They could have been more elaborate. They should have warned us that it
would be a slow and torturous death," Lacroix groaned, with Liam following
close behind.
"But you did triumph, Lucien. No one had ever finished the 'Death by
Chocolate giant triple cream, triple dipped, mega chocolate sundae' before.
And when you go back next time...you get a free one!" Jordan announced in a
perfectly perky Tracy Vetter impersonation, accompanied with a big toothy
grin.
Lacroix moaned louder, and Liam giggled.
"No more! Please, I beg of you...anything..."
"Anything?" Jordan asked with a baneful, and highly suggestive smile.
Lacroix smirked.
"Oh, yes, my dear...anything."
"I will hold you to that a little later, Lucien Lacroix."
"I certainly hope so, mon coeur." They continued to smirk at each other,
before reluctantly burying their rising passion to spend the remainder of
the afternoon playing with their child and enjoying the warmth of the sun.

The globe of brilliant light eventually fell below the horizon and Liam was
put to bed. Once alone, they fell into each other's arms and kissed
passionately before making their own way to their own bed...though the last
thing they saw was the golden setting of the sun, before becoming completely
oblivious to the outside world.

It was past dark, and Lacroix stood naked beside the bed, placing several
bottles of blood on the beside table. He had yet to revert, but if he should
do so while in bed, he had to be ready, unsure how he would react from the
effects of the change.
Slipping beneath the sheets, he drew his wife in to his side and kissed her
temple.
"This has been an enlightening day, mon coeur, and I am happy to have spent
it with you. But I have learnt much about myself," he told her.
Jordan rubbed a hand over his bare chest and waited for him to continue.
"I am not human. This...is not who I am...not any longer. Perhaps I have
taken certain aspects of my humanity...my past...with me into the
night...but essentially I am a vampire...and always shall be."
"I know this now. I miss feeling your cool body as I should. I love you with
all I am, and I realize, after today, that the vampire is a part of you I
love. You just didn't seem complete without it. When we make love, I love to
feel you inside me, caressing my mind as well as my body. I miss having you
here," she said brushing a finger against her head.
Lacroix drew her into his arms and kissed her tenderly. They kissed for a
long while before finally settling down to sleep.

End part 3

knightraven@clear.net.nz
http://home.clear.net.nz/pages/knightraven

Subject: Accidents 04/05
Date: Fri, 24 Mar 2000 08:42:53 +1200
From: Knightraven <knightraven@CLEAR.NET.NZ>
To: FKFIC-L@LISTS.PSU.EDU

Part 4

Two hours later Lacroix rolled onto his side and curled into a ball, sharp,
constant and searing  pain coursing through his stomach.
"Annnhhh!"
He clutched his belly and closed his eyes as sweat began to bead upon his
forehead.
Jordan quickly sat up and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, and pulled
him to rest against her chest. When she noticed the red tint to his brow,
she reached for one of the bottles and yanked the cork out with her teeth.
When she shoved it to his mouth, Lacroix snatched it from her and swallowed
hungrily until it was empty.
They opened and he drank most of the bottles on the table before Lacroix
sank back into the pillows and let out a long, relieved breath of air.
Jordan sat behind him, with his head in her lap for almost an hour before he
finally spoke.
"I...feel as though I have both lost something precious, yet gained
something wonderful," he told her quietly.
Jordan stroked his face down the length of his jaw before replying.
"Like a virgin on her wedding night," she said with a small, coy smile.
Lacroix chuckled quietly.
"Yes. I suppose the description is apt enough."
"What do we do now?" Jordan asked as they continued to lie in bed. But
before Lacroix even had the time to open his mouth to answer, a small blur
threw open the bedroom door and launched itself at the bed, bouncing with a
big smile on top of the pair.
Liam ignored the silent telling off he was getting for failing to knock, and
grabbed Lacroix's hand and began to drag him out of bed. He paused for a
moment when he felt his foster father's hand. It was back to its usual cool.
Liam smiled and continued his efforts which were becoming more strained. He
grunted and groaned as he stood and pulled at an angle with the vampire's
hand in his. The grownup's body had barely budged. He turned, trying to pull
harder, refusing to let go of the hand until the ancient was up.
Lacroix just lay on the bed and smiled malevolently as he watched the
child's comical efforts to force him out of his bed. He could see the boy
obviously rethinking his tactics.
The next thing the pair knew was Liam letting Lacroix's hand go and the
bedclothes suddenly being dragged from the bed and running from the room.
Jordan screeched and laughed and Lacroix made a grab for the duvet, managing
to catch the end before it disappeared through the door along with his
charge. They both heard a thump from the hallway as Liam was pulled to the
ground when the bedding pulled taut.
A muffled, keening cry began. The smiles fled from the adults and Lacroix
leapt out of bed to see what damage had been done. He poked his head into
the hall to see his child sitting on the ground with a corner of the duvet
still clutched tightly in his hand.
The moment Liam saw Lacroix out of bed and in the hall he thrust a finger at
him and began to laugh.
Lacroix quickly realized he'd fallen for the oldest trick in the book.
"Why you little...!" He lunged for the boy and easily caught him before he
escaped, and flung him over his shoulder and marched him back into the
bedroom to throw him onto the bed. Liam was giggling heartily, and then
Jordan began to tickle him until he looked as though he was about to stop
breathing. Meanwhile, Lacroix chuckled and turned to pull on his robe.
Having calmed Liam down a little, they ventured downstairs and entered the
kitchen.
Liam ran to pull out his Rice Bubbles and placed them on the table where
Jordan had placed his bowl and spoon. Lacroix helped him pour on the milk
and smiled slightly and shook his head as he recalled the morning before.
The sun had firmly set and it was now time to reclaim the night.

Lacroix watched his family begin their evening ritual before, with blood in
hand, returning to his room to dress.
Placing his glass down on the dresser, he bent to pick up his new clothing
from the chair it had been thrown on.
He held it in his hands and caressed it with his thumbs.
Humanity. Was it so very different? He had felt different, but he had been
certain he hadn't thought differently. Had the vampire truly made him the
man he was today...or had it merely been time, the turn of the earth,
history?
He loved, just as a mortal did. He felt pain, joy, curiosity. Though he had
told Nicholas quite the opposite on many occasions, he had never truly taken
the standpoint seriously. Perhaps his son had picked up on this. It would
explain his constant persistence to prove him wrong.
He had once thought it impossible for a vampire to love...or, perhaps, to be
more precise, for him to love. But then he had met Fleur, the first woman he
had ever really loved in the fashion from which fairy tales are made, then
he had lost her. He proceeded to become so bitter and twisted at being
denied that love and intimate companionship that he had again forgotten that
it was possible to feel one's heart quicken with the beat of passion, and
true, unconditional...love. Oh, he preached enough of the futility of
believing in such a thing, but he had always been all too aware he had been
fooling even himself... Perhaps Nicholas wasn't so wrong to call him a
hypocritical old fool.  Perhaps, Lacroix smiled as he thought to himself.
Unconditional love. He loved Janette and Nicholas, did he not? For all these
years, centuries, his son had done nothing but despise, mock, and hate him,
but still, he persevered, giving his own love in the only way he knew how.
He had tried to control it, but alas, he was incapable of turning his love
for his family off as one would a lightswitch. He had tried.  It hadn't
worked. The most poignant of these times had been when Nicholas had staked
him and left him for dead. Yet, still, like a dog once fed, he came back for
more. But what had he come back for? Nicholas? To demand that the boy give
him the respect he deserved? Loyalty? Love? But even a thousand years from
now, had his son never returned his affections, he would have still loved
him. Nicholas was his son, and his love for him was absolute, and without a
doubt, eternal.
Humanity. Had he truly lost it all those centuries ago as Vesuvius wrapped
her arms around his mighty Imperial city?
Jordan slid her arms around his waist from behind. He smiled.
No.
"Regrets?" she asked him. She had watched as he stood staring forlornly at
his jeans for several minutes.
He turned slightly in her arms and smiled.
"None."
Jordan returned it, encouraged by his confident tone, and he turned back to
neatly fold his mortal clothes and bury them in the bottom of a deep drawer
attached to the wardrobe.

That night at the Raven, young Nicky strode in through the rear door and
made a beeline for the sound booth. Nicky looked up and watched as the 'on
air' light blinked off before opening the door and slipping inside.
"Hi, Grandfather," he announced himself as the vampire went about pressing
buttons and taking CD's from the rack behind him and ready them to place
into the machine.
"Nicholas," Lacroix stated, his tone gently berating the child for
interrupting his work.
"I just wanted to see you," Nicky told him with a smile as he leaned against
the back of the comfortable swivel chair. Nicky noted the droopy eyes and
the tired vibrations coming from the ancient. He smiled harder.
"Dad always has a hangover, too," he told the man still moving about the
desk.
Lacroix paused and turned to glare at his precocious grandchild.
"What, dare I ask, are you referring to?"
"After being mortal...Dad always acts all tired and stuff," Nicky said
forthrightly, not an ounce of fear in his tone or stance. Lacroix closed his
eyes and shook his head as he turned back to his soundboard. He didn't have
the energy to deal with the boy tonight.
"Nicholas..."
"Yes?"
"Go home."
Nicky chuckled and quickly wrapped his arms around his grandfather's
shoulders and kissed his cheek before spinning and bolting for the door
before he outstayed his welcome any longer.
Lacroix huffed a chuckle and shook his head as the blonde whirlwind of
adolescence left him in the eerie calm of its wake.

Life had quickly returned to normal, his day of mortality soon nothing more
than a pleasant dream. His wife cut her hours at the club to only two nights
a week.  The others she spent at her art class or creating her own
masterpieces while caring for the latest addition to the family.
Liam was attending regular counseling sessions with his granddaughter, Anna,
who conveniently specialized in treating traumatized children. Social
services had insisted the child attend, and they had received no argument
from him. Therefore, twice a week, he or Jordan, and sometimes both,
shuttled the child to the sometimes intense sessions where he was learning
to deal with his memories and the pain inflicted upon him for most of his
young life.
In the past few weeks, Liam had shown real progress. Smiling and laughter
were now part of Liam's regular daily activities.

He stood, waiting, watching his foster child and his granddaughter from the
small observation room, a panel of one-way glass hiding him from view.
They were beginning speech therapy this week, and the first step was to
relay to Liam that he was now allowed to speak. Tonight had been a grueling
session with many tears and periods of withdrawal.
"Did Hollis want you to be quiet?" he heard Anna ask the boy gently.
Liam nodded his head slowly.
"All the time?"
Liam shook his head in the negative. Anna persevered. Lacroix stood
straight, his arms crossed but for the fingers gently gripping his lips as
he watched and listened. He had slowly reined in his rage over the weeks. He
had needed to leave the building many times in the past whenever Hollis
Gates' name was mentioned, let alone when they began to talk about what had
actually occurred over the years. Once Liam was speaking, and the sordid
details would be heard, he wasn't certain if he would be able to stand here
and listen without breaking something in the room.
"Hmm. So you chose to be really quiet," Anna said with a small quirk of her
lips to soften the question.
Liam nodded, almost shy in his admission.
"Did he get mad when you didn't talk?" Liam nodded again, more confidently
this time, modestly proud of his answer.
"You were a very brave little man, Liam," Anna smiled, and Liam ducked his
head and smiled at the praise.
"Would you like to start talking to us, Liam? To Lacroix and Jordan?" she
asked him gently. Tears came to the boy's eyes as he sat on his haunches on
the floor looking into the woman's face opposite him. Anna shuffled as she
waited for him to answer, propping her chin up on her hands as she lay on
the floor, placing the child in the position of physical control.
Lacroix raised an eyebrow as he waited for the child's answer himself. His
lips pulled up at one side as the boy finally nodded. Tears streamed down
the child's face and he sobbed silently. This was an action which had
unnerved him at times. When the child cried for emotional reasons, he did so
in complete silence. Anna sat up and pulled Liam into her lap and hugged him
tightly, rocking him as he calmed.

When he was settled, she let him relax and play with the toys scattered
around the brightly decorated room for a few minutes before calling an end
to the session.
Lacroix left his space and slipped into the next room.  Anna smiled broadly
as she watched Liam bound into the elder's arms and be hoisted onto his hip.
Lacroix gave the child a small smile and asked,
"How was your session today? Good?" When the boy nodded and smiled, Lacroix
brushed a hand through his short brown hair and Liam rested his head against
his shoulder.
"Yes, we had a good session tonight, Lacroix," Anna confirmed with a smile.
Lacroix turned his attention to the woman and nodded, admiring the young
woman before him. So much like Nicholas, this one.
"Indeed. I am pleased," he responded with a dash of rarely released praise.
"Until Thursday, my dear," he added, then moved toward the exit.
Anna nodded and he turned to leave, carrying the child easily in his arms.
Jordan was teaching her class tonight, but she should be home by the time
they arrived, and as was becoming their ritual when just he and Liam came to
the sessions, he stopped at the local diner for ice-cream on their way home.
It was a reward of sorts and a time which was solely for him and Liam. Anna
had recommended some form of bonding between them in an effort to build
Liam's trust in men again. Other than himself, Nicholas, Patrick and Vachon
were the only grown males the boy tolerated, and in regards to the Spaniard
and bartender, it could be dubious at times, depending on the child's state
of mind.
Lacroix sat and watched the child plow through a bowl of chocolate ice
cream, daring to try the odd spoonful Liam would thrust toward him. It was
nothing like the first bowl he had eaten as a mortal...but perhaps with a
little blood topping...
He had also begun to tutor the child once a day with reading and writing
exercises. The child was not only socially behind, but also deficient in his
teachings. At five, he had barely seen a book, let alone learnt to read one.
The child should be attending school at his age, but his past life made that
an impossibility at this point in time, and would most likely continue to do
so for at least the next year. On Liam's part, though, he seemed to be
adjusting quickly now, but they were all only too aware of how emotionally
fragile the child still was. However, his physical progress was nothing but
good news. He had quickly put on weight and was now almost at his goal. A
few more weeks would have him up to the weight of a healthy 5 year old. He
was still small for his age, his growth stunted as the child's energy had
gone into keeping him alive, not in making him taller. Still, he was bound
to make up for it in zest and cunning.
Lacroix looked up from the child as he felt a familiar presence enter the
diner.

Nick opened the door to the diner and smiled as he locked eyes with his
sire. He held the door for his partner who followed close behind but veered
off to make a beeline for the coffee machine.
Nick went to join his father and little brother.
"Nicholas," Lacroix said in greeting, allowing his own smirk to pull his
lips. Liam rose onto his knees and grinned at Nick.
"Hey, there, Liam!" Nick said as he ruffled the boy's hair and gave him a
hug. He was still holding him against his chest when Tracy joined them.
As they all sat down, Lacroix moved to make room for the mortal woman to sit
next to him.
"We saw your car and Tracy needed refueling..." Nick waved a hand through he
air as he explained their presence.
Lacroix smiled gently as he felt the hum of jealousy, then the expected
guilt, emanate from his son. He sent back a firm rebuke, quickly followed by
a sense of tolerance and understanding, not to mention a firm reminder of
the possession he would eternally hold for the man sitting opposite him.
Nick ducked his head, and smiled himself as he felt the offering from his
sire. He had felt silly for feeling the pang of jealousy when he had seen
Lacroix and Liam sharing such a father/son moment together.
When Tracy finished her coffee, Nick rose.
"Well, we had best be back to work," he announced. Tracy slipped from the
table and said her good-byes to the pair remaining.
"Nicholas," Lacroix called after him as he moved away from the table. Nick
turned and raised an eyebrow.
"Come to me when your shift is complete," he told him.

Nick nodded before continuing on his way. He took in a deep breath of air
once he was outside. He firmly shook the beginnings of his arousal to the
back of his mind. Lacroix hadn't used that tone of voice with him for a very
long time...and he wasn't sure, though his body thought otherwise, if he was
ready to reaffirm their bond and relationship in such an intimate way just
yet.

Lacroix felt Nicholas arrive, and poured them both a glass of bloodwine
while waiting for his son to enter the living room. He was now unsure if it
had been the best of moves to invite Nicholas to come to him tonight.
Perhaps it would best if they just sat and talked, better yet, indulge in a
game of chess to pass the remainder of the night away. Whatever they chose
to do, it would have to be at his son's pace, yet, hopefully, soothe his
son's sense of abandonment before it manifested into an ugly monster he
could not control.
When contemplating taking the child in the first instance, he had thought
about his son's reaction to no longer being the 'baby' of the family, and
was somewhat ready for this encounter. But still, Nicholas always had the
ability to do the unexpected.

Nick walked into the room and immediately breathed a sigh of relief. He
noted the wine glasses and the chessboard neatly set up between a pair of
wingback chairs in front of the lit fireplace.
Lacroix held out a glass, which he took, and gestured toward the chairs.
"I thought a little 'quality' time was in order," he said.
"Look, Lacroix, I apologize for earlier...I guess I just wasn't ready to see
you and Liam...I'm not really..."
"I know, Nicholas." Lacroix halted his son's apology before it got out of
hand.
"All the same, this is long overdue," he added quietly as he sat in his
usual chair and crossed his legs in his usual manner. He then gestured to
the board between them.
"Black or white?"
Nick smiled and took a hurried sip from his glass before seating himself and
turning the board so the white pieces were closest to him. He smirked at the
pouting glare his father shot him. His sire was always white. He then
quickly made the first move.

Almost 6 weeks later, Lucien woke to the sound of retching issuing from the
bathroom. He frowned. He hadn't thought Jordan had overindulged last night?
He rose gracefully and padded barefoot into the adjoining room.
"Jordan?"
"I'm okay. Must have eaten something that didn't agree with me," she told
him as she flushed the chain and rinsed her mouth with a glass of water.
Lacroix moved to her side and gently rubbed her back as she took in slow,
deep breaths and leant against the sink with her eyes closed.
"Are you certain?" he asked her, concern creasing his brow.
Jordan nodded and straightened.
"Yeah, I'll be fine." He drew her into his arms and Jordan rested her cheek
against his broad chest, snaking her arms around his waist.
She then moved them as one back toward the bedroom. Lacroix held back the
covers while Jordan climbed into bed, then waited until he had joined her
before pulling herself back into his arms.

By nightfall, Jordan was feeling much better, so much so that she thwarted
any attempt by her husband to keep her at home and in bed for the night.
It was Friday night, and she would be needed at the Raven. Liam went with
them most weekends and happily played in his old room, which still housed
many of his toys and games. Nicky, and various volunteers, were always happy
to spend a few minutes...or hours keeping the child happily entertained.

The night went by without incident, the usual rough and tumble amongst the
patrons kept to a minimum when the owner was present.
As the staff milled about, clearing off the tables and debris from the club,
Jordan smiled to herself, thinking back on the mortal day she had spent with
Lucien. He had taken to staring at himself in the mirror more, seemingly
trying to fathom what it was he was feeling in regards to his mortal life.
She had a sense he didn't quite know how to feel about his day in the sun.
It had brought back memories of his mortal life. A life he had not
consciously thought about in depth for most of the past 2000 years. It held
much pain and heartache for him. On a couple of occasions, he had been so
deep in thought he had not heard her enter the room and stand in the doorway
watching him. When he did finally notice her, he just smiled wanefully and
walked away.

Jordan suddenly hunched over and gripped her stomach as a sharp pain shot
through her. The smashing of the glass from her hands drew immediate
attention to her from the other vampires present. Patrick hurried over to
her as she barely held herself upright against the bar.
"Jordan?" he asked urgently, frowning as he placed a hand on her back. When
Jordan failed to respond with anything other than a cry of pain, he turned
toward the sound booth Lacroix was shut away in. He was about to move toward
it when the man himself suddenly rushed from the room and ran to his wife.
Patrick quickly noted  that the couple's bond was stronger than even he had
realized.

After a quick look into Jordan's eyes, Lacroix promptly picked her up into
his arms and headed toward the back alley where the car was parked...it was
too cold to fly her anywhere tonight.
"Patrick...!" he called over his shoulder. The bartender waved a hand.
"Don't worry. I'll watch over the bairn," he called as the vampire placed
his wife in the front passenger seat of the vehicle. Lacroix gave him a curt
nod and slid quickly behind the wheel.
Patrick stood helplessly and watched as the ancient revved the engine and
sped from view.

End Part 4

knightraven@clear.net.nz
http://home.clear.net.nz/pages/knightraven

Subject: Accidents 05/05
Date: Fri, 24 Mar 2000 08:43:44 +1200
From: Knightraven <knightraven@CLEAR.NET.NZ>
To: FKFIC-L@LISTS.PSU.EDU

Part 5

"DOCTOR!!" Lacroix yelled as he carried Jordan through the main doors of the
emergency room. "A doctor!! NOW!!"
Lacroix wasn't unlike a raging bull as he strode toward the exam rooms,
ignoring the scuttle of nurses and staff who were trying to stop him.
Jordan was limp in his arms, unconscious. She had passed out about four
blocks from the hospital. He had driven like a madman to get here, swerving
through traffic and racing traffic lights along the way. Her heartbeat had
slowed and become irregular.
A man in a white coat finally turned up and overrode the desk nurses'
attempts at getting the tall man to put his wife down and fill in the
appropriate forms.
"What happened?" he asked Lacroix as the man placed the woman gently onto
the gurney in the center of the room.
"I do not know. She was suddenly suffering abdominal pain and she is
bleeding," Lacroix told him. He could smell the blood coming from her
womanhood. It was in such a fashion that did not indicate it was merely her
time of the month. Something was very wrong, he could sense it.
The doctor immediately ordered a series of scans and began to gently press
his hands against Jordan's stomach. She groaned and turned her head toward
her husband, standing anxiously to one side as the triage nurses went about
their duties. Lacroix was pushed further away by another doctor who joined
the first.
"Has she been experiencing any pain, nausea or bleeding in the past few
days?" the original doctor asked him, continuing to examine his patient as
he spoke.
"Doctor, her BP is dropping," a nurse interrupted before Lacroix could
speak. The doctor quickly turned to the cardiac monitor and watched for a
moment.
"Okay. We can't wait much longer. Where's that sonar equipment!" he called.
"Two minutes," someone called from beside a phone attached to the far wall.
When he deemed it safe to speak, Lacroix told the doctor,
"She was ill yesterday, but nothing else that I am aware of." He stood with
his arms crossed tightly, shuffling his feet, barely able to contain himself
from pushing everyone out of his way and holding his wife.
The doctor merely nodded as he took in the information.
The doors bumped open and a cart with a machine attached was rolled quickly
through and set up next to Jordan. The doctor immediately took the tube of
clear gel from the rack beneath and dabbed it onto Jordan's abdomen. He then
picked up a scanning device and used it to spread the gel over her skin.
Another nurse switched on the machine and a sonar image appeared on the
small screen. The doctor stood and watched the image as he moved the scanner
about slowly.
"Hmm. There is definitely a fair bit of bleeding going on in there..." he
murmured. A nurse began setting up a saline drip into the back of Jordan's
hand.
"How far along is her pregnancy?" the doctor asked.
Lacroix stared, his mouth dropping open as his eyes widened. He finally
managed to mutter,
"Pardon me?"
The doctor turned to look at the husband's stunned expression.
"Oh," he said, realizing, at least the husband had no idea the woman was
pregnant. He quickly turned back to the monitor and concentrated the scanner
over the fetus.
"Well, by the looks of it, the fetus is about 8 to 10 weeks old..."
"Seven," Lacroix said flatly. The doctor shot him another look then turned
back to his assessment.
Lacroix, however, was still reeling. Had Jordan known of this? Surely he
would have
tasted the knowledge in her blood. How had he not sensed her pregnancy?
He closed his eyes for a moment as he valiantly attempted to absorb this
news.
"The child...?" he finally asked quietly, not sure which answer he would
prefer to hear right now.
"Alive...weak, but as yet unaffected by the bleeding, though its weakness
would most likely be due to the trauma your wife is undergoing." The doctor
began moving the scanner again. "Now let's see if we can find what is
causing all this..." Twenty minutes later he turned off the monitor and
finished filling out Jordan's chart.
"She will need to be admitted for as long as it takes for the scar tissue to
reform. A week, maybe two." The doctor then paused as he sized Lacroix up
from a few feet away. With a little apprehension, he asked,
"I hope this does not offend you, but I will need to ask you a few personal
questions about your wife's medical history."
Lacroix stared for a moment, then nodded curtly and waited for the young
mortal to begin.
The doctor took a steadying breath and asked,
"Has your wife ever had an abortion?"
Lacroix let out a breath through his nose before answering.
"Yes...twice," he told him quietly. The number of people in the room had
reduced dramatically as Jordan had stabilized and all the appropriate tubes
and needles were positioned and administering various drugs and potions.
"Her first husband was not inclined to bear offspring." Lacroix sighed and
went to stand beside his lover and take her hand in his.
"I fear his methods of elimination were hardly professional."
The doctor watched as the man looked into his wife's sleeping face and
brushed the hair from her face. Without moving his gaze from the pair, he
explained the situation.
"Your wife has severe scaring of the uterus lining, and carrying the baby
has put added pressure on the tissue. It has torn, which has accounted for
the blood and pain." He paused for a moment before continuing. "To be honest
with you, Mr. Lacroix, I am surprised your wife was able to conceive at
all." When Lacroix looked up to him, he went on. "This pregnancy is going to
be long and difficult, and even then, she may not be able to carry the baby
to full term. I am going to prescribe gentle activity after complete bedrest
for the next 2 weeks, then, as we progress, I would suggest she take to her
bed for the remainder of the trimester."
"Is Jordan endangered in any way by the pregnancy?"
"Again, to be honest...to a degree, but the risk is more toward the baby.
Jordan may tear again, and there are areas where heavy bleeding would occur,
at which point she should be rushed to the closest hospital immediately. But
otherwise, she will have to take life very easy for the next seven months."
The doctor then smiled and held out his hand.
"Congratulations," he said as Lacroix briefly took his hand and shook.
"I will admit your wife and send someone to take her to her room. I will be
by to see her in an hour."
"Thank you, doctor," Lacroix told him graciously, and the young man nodded
as he moved from the room.
Lacroix sighed again, then leant over his wife and placed a light kiss on
her forehead.
"What have I done to you?" he breathed. He had been mortal...and this was
what it had done. His wife could very well have died tonight had she not
been brought here. He closed his eyes and rested his forehead against hers.
He felt a hand brush the back of his head and hold him in place.
"Jordan," he whispered.
"What happened?"
"You collapsed in the bar, and I brought you here," he told her, purposely
keeping the news from her until after she had slept some more and become
settled in her room.
He only released his hold on her when the orderlies entered to wheel her up
several floors to a private room.
Once she had been transferred safely to her bed and checked again by a
nurse, he took her hand in his again and sat in the chair one of the
orderlies had pulled up to the side of the bed, giving Lacroix a knowing
smile and wink as he left.

Jordan woke to find Lucien holding her hand as he slept, his head resting on
the bed beside her shoulder. He was frowning slightly as his stress came
through on his sleeping features.
His face suddenly softened and fell into an unfeeling mask. Jordan knew it
all too well. It was how he coped. She just lifted a hand to stroke his hair
as he turned under her hand and opened his eyes.
"What did the doctor say?" she asked him quietly, running her hand along his
jaw as he looked at her. He held her gaze as he said,
"You are with child."
Lacroix watched as a shocked expression, then a myriad of emotions, from
fear to joy, sped across her face.
"Lucien...Is the baby...?"
"It lives." He glanced down at the bedspread before looking back up to her
questioning gaze.
"The doctor believes it will be a trying pregnancy. There is a chance the
baby will not survive." Jordan sat back against the pillows and closed her
eyes.
"Damn him...!" she quietly fumed, tears beginning to fall against her
cheeks. Lacroix reached up and brushed them away with his thumbs.
"Do not think of him, my love. I will not allow Stanton to interfere in our
lives again," he told her firmly. Jordan looked to him and nodded, then
wrapped her arms around his neck. He pulled her toward him, holding her
tightly, making sure she knew he would eternally be at her side.
He closed his eyes as he made a strong mental note to quietly rid himself
and his wife of the gangster who had so brutally wreaked havoc in their
lives.
Jordan had asked him to spare his pathetic life when they had been first
reunited, and so he had left him to the wheels of mortal justice, even as
his own instincts were telling him the man would always stain their
relationship until he was permanently dead and buried. Lacroix's patience
had run out, and as much as it pained him to go against his word, he was
adamant this needed to be done.
One phone call was all it took.

Jordan settled back into the pillows again and brushed away the remnants of
her tears.
"How do you feel about this?" she asked him, taking his hand in hers and
running her fingers over his knuckles. Lacroix quirked a crooked smile.
"I am unsure. This is a circumstance I had never thought to be possible
again...but now that it is...I believe the notion of my becoming a father by
flesh once more will...grow on me," he told her.
Jordan smiled, and he rose himself to kiss her gently. She held his face in
her hands and smiled as she looked into his eyes.
"This baby is going to live. It has a strong, loyal and doting father, and a
mother who will not give up without a fight," she vowed emphatically.
Lacroix's smile returned at her discretion and he touched her mind as he
gazed into the intensity in her eyes.
"I would never doubt your strength and tenacity, mon coeur," he whispered,
then took her lips in his once again, only this time, a passionate fire
crossed their bond as they met.
Reluctantly, Lacroix pulled away and helped his wife to get comfortable and
watched over her as she drifted back to sleep.
"Ah, mon coeur...how you do make eternity seem worthwhile," he whispered
gently. After a melancholy sigh, he reached down and pulled the lever on the
chair, pushing the back down as the footrest came up to collect his feet. He
turned onto his side, and still clutching Jordan's hand, let himself fall
asleep to wait out the setting of the sun.

finis.

end part 5
Same bat time...same bat channel for the next exciting episode...

knightraven@clear.net.nz
http://home.clear.net.nz/pages/knightraven