Final Chapter

When they finished explaining to Mike what was going on, leaving out key details of course, Mike was under the impression that Will and Maggie were a couple in need of assistance with some pesky "vampire" zealots who "thought" Will was a vampire. They told Mike that he had been knocked out by one of the intruders and that Henry and Will had "vamped" them and they left, none the wiser; neither was Mike.

"Well, since it's almost dawn, I guess we'd better get the boys tucked in," Maggie said to Vicki. Vicki nodded and she, Henry and Mike started out the door.

"Vicki?", Will said. Vicki turned to face him, "Will you be available later today so that Maggie may come to see you and finish up our business?"

Vicki looked at the three and smiled, "Sure, why not, should be interesting I suppose." Tori ran over to Vicki and gave her a tight hug and said, where only Vicki could hear, I love you Aunt Vicki, I hope you will learn to love me. Vicki cleared her throat, trying to blink away the glistening tears. This emotional crap was going to kill her!

"Come on Henry, Mike, night's a burnin'" With that, they left.

"Do you think she believes everything?" Will asked Maggie. She sighed, "I hope so, we're going to need her Will you know that." She turned to him and they embraced.

"Mommy," Tori asked, "Why doesn't Aunt Vicki just tell Henry she loves him?" Maggie's eyes widened, "How do you know that young lady?"

Tori rolled her eyes, "Oh please, Mother, I can hear her too!" They all laughed and Maggie said, "By the way, we have some things to discuss" and she raised an eyebrow at Tori. They decided to stay there because it was so close to dawn and the warehouse was converted anyway to accommodate nightwalkers.

"Tori, you must get some sleep. I have to go to Vicki's office and I need you to stay here. Okay?" Tori protested, through a yawn and Maggie knew she would be asleep in no time.

As the three of them walked back to there cars, Mike said, "It's strange that I don't remember anything, absolutely nothing." He turned to Henry, and this time, Henry was honestly able to deny all charges. "Hey," he put his hands up, "don't look at me, I'm innocent..."

Mike mumbled, "This time..."

Vicki laughed at them and shook her head, "Worse than two little boys..."

Mike retrieved his keys from his pocket and Vicki walked over to his car.

"Thanks Mike," she said giving him a quick hug and a smile.

"Yeah, yeah, good old Mike," he smiled back at her. She started back to Henry's car and Mike called out to her, "Hey, maybe we can double date, that is, if you can find the time?" Vicki narrowed her eyes and said, "Bring it on!"

Vicki was quiet the first few minutes of the drive. "I know you can read my mind so there's no point acting like you don't know what I'm thinking."

Henry was serious,"Actually, I CAN block you out, which, whether you believe me or not, is exactly what I was doing. Giving you some privacy seemed the gentlemanly thing to do."

She gave him a sideways glance and said, "Somehow, I doubt that but I'll give you the benefit of the doubt."

"So, what were you thinking?" He asked.

"You really don't know?" He shook his head, "No I REALLY don't know!" he said chuckling. She suddenly became somewhat sad.

"I really want to believe her, that, whatever. But, I've seen so much lately, Henry, I don't know what's real and what's not." Henry could sense her confliction.

"I mean, a sister? my father had another family that he left? A niece and vamp-in-law?"

"Is that all so bad?" Henry asked.

She looked at him, "Well...no but, I just don't believe it, trust it. I have some kind of power? Why now? Why not before when Asteroth was trying to kill me?"

"Vicki, puzzles don't fit unless all of the pieces are there. Understand?"

"What, you're saying that until Maggie and Tori showed up, my so-called "ability" was non-functioning? Sorry, having a little difficulty there, I'm Vicki, not Coreen. I don't know, I"m glad we helped them, but there's got to be an ulterior motive, something I'm not seeing, " she trailed off her last words as if in deep thought.

"Do you trust me?" Henry asked quietly. She looked at him in disbelief, "You have to ask ME that?"

"Well, you know that I can sense lies, I never sensed any untruths in any of them, not even Charles and his group, nothing."

She was suddenly looking at Henry intensely. "What?" Henry asked, "Why are you looking at me like that?" They had arrived at Vicki's apartment building.

"Did you mean what you said to me, just before we went in the house?" she asked, searching his face for emotion of any kind.

He turned the car off and turnd to face her in the seat. "You have to ask ME that?" He smiled as he said it and leaned in to kiss her. She leaned in to meet him and they kissed for what seemed like an eternity. When she pulled away, Henry's eyes were drowing with passion, as were hers. She was barely able to whisper, "Are you going to be able to drive home before dawn?"

"No, probably not, may I borrow your closet?" She laughed as this had happened once before one night when they had been out late on a case. He didn't have time to get home, she had converted her large walk-in closet to be completely dark, no light at all so it would be safe for him.

"You are always welcome to use my closet Henry, you know it's all yours." They exited the vehicle and went up to her apartment.

They had a little over an hour before dawn, before Henry's heart would stop beating for the day. Vicki always hated that. Not that she would ever say it, but it frightened her to think it would not beat again.

As soon as they entered Vicki's apartment, Henry shut the door quickly behind him and took her in his arms. She eagerly greeted him and they just held each other, nothing else, just comfort for them both. Vicki could hear Henry's heart beating, smell that scent that drove her wild, something she didn't want to admit. She spoke first, without pulling away, her head still on his chest, "Henry, would you ever think of doing what Will and his people have done?"

She heard Henry's heart skip a beat. "Would you want me too?"

With that answer, she pulled away. "That's not what I asked."

Henry took his jacket off, walked over to the couch and sat down. He motioned for Vicki to come and sit down. She followed him, but she was irritated. Henry took her hands in his and stared at her intently, "I asked, would YOU want me to?"

"Why, why do you want to know that?"

"Why do you think? Do you think I said those things to you in haste? Vicki, you have got to let someone in eventually."

"No, I don't. When you let people in, they hurt you, they leave."

He smiled, "Well, since I'm not really able to just leave hastily, I could give you my word, I wouldn't leave, I would never ever leave."

"I asked if you would want me to because I would like to have a reason to."

Vicki's eyes showed everything she didn't want them too-her complete and total love and devotion for Henry, she didn't want that again, not after what happened with Mike. She didn't like NEEDING someone.

"Would I..." she hesitated, "would I be the ONLY reason?"

He nodded, "Honestly, yes, yes you would. When they asked if I wanted a life, a family, I realized at that moment that I had resigned myself to never having those things because of the choice I made. But after seeing them, hearing them...I realized that yes, I do want that."

"And at first, when they told us about the "alernative" blood source, I was less than thrilled." He leaned closer to Vicki and said, "But if I could spend every day with you, the rest of our lives, children..."

She put her hands up then..."Whoa, whoa, who said anything about kids?" Henry cocked his head at her, "You don't want kids? I'm surprised. You'd make a great mother."

Vicki couldn't believe what she was hearing, "You think I would make a great mother?" Vicki had never thought she would ever be a mother, she was a mother all right, but in another sense of the word.

What she really thought was that she would never find a man willing to put up with her stubborn, pig-headed ways and yet here he sat, willing to do whatever it took..

"Okay so maybe no kids, but still..." she cut him off, "I never said never, I just, well, I just didn't think anyone would want to procreate with me, that's all. But you...you are willing to change your whole life, over 400 years worth, for me." She couldn't stop the tears, damn!!!

The emotions she had been holding in all night poured out. What he had said to her before going in, those words "I love you, more than life itself, I would die for you and I will die loving no one else..." were still ringing in her ear, hours later. Henry held her, he held her and comforted her and then she said something he never thought he would hear, "I love you too Henry, but I sure don't know why the hell you would love me."

Leave it to Vicki to make the moment all hers-in typical Vicki fashion. He put his hand under her chin, wiped away tears with his thumb and said, "Who the hell couldn't love you Vicki Nelson? It's the best challenge in life!" He kissed her, kissed her more than he had ever kissed her. He picked her up and carried her to her room...the night was not over yet.

The next day, at noon Vicki was at her desk, feet propped up looking very, very happy.

"Hey Vicki," said Coreen, "looks like someone ended their night well! Case go well I take it? Was it harder than you thought?

Vicki smiled, "No, no, it was just right?" Coreen turned her head to one side and said, "OOOkay, little cryptic, but whatever...Oh! A Maggie? called, said she'd be here at 1:00 to see you? Know her?"

Vicki was in such a good mood that she filled Coreen in on everything, up until arriving inside the apartment that is. She told her that Mike didn't know that version, so to keep it to herself.

"Wow," Coreen kept repeating. "How come I can't have some cool kind of "power" or "gift"? Why is it wasted on the mundanes?"

"Coreen!!" Vicki said. Coreen smile sheepishly, "Sorry, you know you're not really a full mundane, I mean, you're kind of half and half." Vicki threw up her hands and said, "Gee thanks."

Coreen turned to leave and then turned back and said, "There IS somehting different about you today though. It's like, I don't know, like Oh my gosh, You are actually relaxed and happy!!" Oh no. She was going to figure it out.

"You got a problem with that?" Vicki said, trying to sound a little more edgy. "No," Coreen smiled, "NOT a bit, in fact, it's a really nice change. You should do it more often."

With that, Coreen went back to her desk. Vicki wasn't quite ready to let anyone in on her new secret. Not that she wasn't happy. For the life of her though, she didn't know how she was going to tell Mike or how he would take it-she was in love with a vampire! Geez-how would her mother take it? Why should she care what Mike thinks anyway, their relationships was over and he was apparently taken with Kate...her head was still spinning from all these thoughts when suddenly, she "felt" something.

About two minutes later, Maggie walked into the office.

"Whoa!" Coreen exclaimed, "She wasn't kidding about you two looking alike, scary, great, but scary, TWO Vicki's..don't know if Canada can handle that!" Vicki was coming out to meet her and although Vicki never shut her door, she did so this time. Coreen nodded in understanding, she was not offended.

"Please, sit." Vicki said as she motioned to the couch.

"You don't have to be so formal," said Maggie. Vicki nodded.

"I know but uh..."

"You still don't believe me do you?"

Vicki sighed, "Part of me does, but this is just sooo much at once. I have about a million questions."

Maggie laughed, " I knew you would and I'm here to tell you that we have plenty of time for that."

Vicki looked at her, puzzled, "Why do you say that?"

"Well, we have always lived here, just not in close enough proximity for you to notice. But, Will and I are going to be more involved with the community now. We will be more visible. Will has many, many other medical breakthroughs that we have been sitting on, waiting for the right time. Now, is the time."

Vicki was really not sure this is what she wanted to hear.

" Look, this is alot for me. I mean, ALL of it, the..the stuff, " she was waving her hands around, " you, Will, Tori and by the way, Tori? Victoria, may I assume..." Maggie nodded, "yes,"

"Sorry, it's just that...Our father, " she nearly choked on the word and hissed it out at the same time, "he left us both. He left me first, before he even knew me. He never even gave me a chance, not one. Then, he hurt you Vicki, and whether you want to believe me or not, I am your Sister, only half I know, but the important half. The smart, kick ass half." Vicki had to agree with that.

"We can do genetic testing if you like." Vicki said that was not really necessary, a mirror was enough.

"What do you want from me Maggie?" Vicki asked.

Maggie smiled and something in that smile made Vicki feel safe, loved almost, "Nothing, absolutely nothing, just to know that maybe we can build a relationship as we should have been able to do when we were younger. If you don't want to, I'll understand, but at least, give Tori a chance. I chose that name so you would always be with me, at least in name, if I never got the chance to know you."

Vicki smiled, she knew then that this was the beginning of a whole new story in her life filled with different chapters. Yes, Vicki Nelson was happy today, she as definitely, most definitely happy and relaxed. She knew to seize this moment, because all too soon, another case would ooze it's way into her office.