Cloud Nine

(A/N: I just watched 'Only the Lonely'.  Therefore, nothing that happens after that exists.  R/R/E!  Hey, anyone else notice how, on fanfiction.net, almost no one knows any grammar/writing rules?  How sad…)

            Natalie tapped her pencil on the black book in front of her.  Protective to her as a sister.  And that's all she could ever be.  She had loved him since the day he'd ended up on her examination table. And all in vain.  As a sister!  She snorted.  If only she was more like Janette.  That was the kind of women he was drawn to, not her.  A sister!

            Grace came in and stood in front of Natalie's desk.  "You are taking the night off.  And I've got a blind date set up, which you are going to."  Natalie began to shake her head.  "No, you are going.  I know the guy, he's really nice, and you'll have fun.  It's only dinner, and if you don't like him, you never have to see him again.  Bring your beeper if you want to so you have an excuse to leave early.  But put that away and get your coat."

            Natalie sighed, but locked up the book.  It had been two months since the Roger Jameison incident, and her friends had been trying to set her up constantly.  Perhaps it was time to get over that.  She got her coat and followed Grace.

~~~~{@

            Nick stared around at his surroundings, wondering how Schanke had convinced him to of this.  He was in a restaurant, a nice restaurant, a full restaurant.  He was sitting under a table, right beneath a circular window on the right side of the room.  What was he doing in a place he had no business being in?  Waiting for his blind date to show up.

            Schanke had decided that Nick needed to get out more.  Actually, Nick had the suspicion that Myra had decided for Schanke.  Regardless of whom it was, Schanke had been pestering him for two months to go on a date with someone.  Knowing it was probably one of Schanke's cousins, or Myra's cousins, he adamantly refused every time.  Finally, he decided that maybe saying yes to one would end it.  Over the centuries, he had gotten very good at faking eating, so he just had to make it through one hour, at the most.

~~~~{@

            Grace watched Natalie enter the restaurant.  Schanke came up to stand next to her.

            "I hope this works," she muttered to him.

            "It had better.  Or else Myra will have my head for screwing it up."

            They smiled conspiratorially at each other and walked away.

~~~~{@

            Natalie scanned the room for whomever she was supposed to be meeting.  Grace had made her wear a red blouse so the man could recognize her.  She supposed she didn't look that bad.  She was nervous, though.  Very nervous.  One bad apple may not ruin the bunch, but it sure did taint the rest of them for the diner.  Her friend had told her he would be sitting directly under the only round window on the right side of the room.  Natalie found the table quickly, and when she saw who it was, she sighed in exasperation.  Wonderful.  'Dinner' with someone who didn't eat and saw her only as a sister.  What kind of person signed their card 'with affection', anyway?

            Nick had been gazing around the room when his ears picked up a very distinct and welcome heartbeat.  Looking up at the door, his eyes quickly found Natalie.  She looked particularly pretty in the red blouse he had bought her for Christmas and- red blouse!  No way was she the one he was meeting!  But she met his eyes and headed over, not looking particularly happy.

            Nick rose to greet her, kissing her on the cheek.  "Hi, Nat."

            They both sat down, taking it for granted that the other was their blind date.  "How did you get roped into this?" Natalie asked, wondering if he had known it would be her and was doing this out of pity.

            "I got sick of Schanke trying to set me up with all of his and Myra's female relatives, so I figured going on a blind date would shut him up for a while.  How about you?"

            "Same reason, of course, except with Grace.  Look, this is stupid, so why don't we both go back to our respective homes?"

            "No, wait a minute.  Why should you be deprived of a nice meal because it happens to be someone you know?  Besides, I heard they have a live band playing here tonight.

            "Well…" Natalie was reluctant to stay.  She wasn't sure whether or not it would have been worse had it been a complete stranger.  Let's see…someone who might be another psycho, or someone who saw her as a little sister, even though she wished to be so much more… Nope.  Not an easy choice.  You have to snap out of this Lambert, she thought.  But then Nick's eyes slowly morphed into puppy-dog eyes, and she was lost.

            "All right.  It could be worse."

            Even though that last sentence struck a chord in him, Nick smiled.  His evening was looking up, even though he had a sneaking suspicion that Natalie was mad at him for some reason.  After the Roger incident, he had taken some time to…review his feelings for Natalie.  When had he stopped being able to convince himself that she meant only as much as a friend to him?

            When the waiter came, Nick ordered a rare steak, and Natalie had filet mignon.  When the food arrived, Nick watched Natalie eat, managing to choke down a few bites of his own meal.  She smiled each time he made himself take a bite, which encouraged him to attempt to force down some more.  He even managed to keep it down, although he felt slightly (understatement of the year) nauseous.

            They filled the meal with meaningless chitchat and the silence of close friends.  Eventually, the lights dimmed and the band came out onto the stage.  As they began to play, a few couples got up and began to dance in the spot that had been cleared before the staging area.

            When a slow song came on, Nick asked if she would like to dance.  After a brief hesitation, she agreed.  They walked out amidst the other couples.  While they danced, Nick held Natalie close to him, letting her warmth warm his cold body.  She rested her cheek on his chest, content for the moment to be near him, to be held close to him.  She put all of her anger and hurt aside for the moment.

            The band played two slow songs in a row.  In the middle of the second one, Nick asked quietly, "Why are you angry with me?"

            "I'm not."  She could taste the bitterness of the lie in her mouth.

            Nick made her look up at him.  "Yes you are.  I can tell.  You've been mad at me for a while.  What did I do?  Please tell me, Nat."

            Natalie sighed.  What the hell.  She would tell him.  She couldn't spend her entire life locked in this stasis.  It was time to either get more or move on.  "All right.  You're right; I am a little peeved with you.  You tell me you see me as a sister, yet you treat me like I'm more.  You sign cards 'with affection', but you show a whole lot more.  You have to make up your mind, Nick.  Or else…I don't know.  But you have to pick one side of the deal and stick with it.  You can't keep switching back and forth every other week."

            They stood still, in the middle of a sea of moving dancers.  Natalie had moved slightly away from Nick, and he dropped his arms to the side.  She was right.  She was right a hundred times over.  He did those things to try and distance himself from her, but it never worked.  And now, when presented with an ultimatum, he didn't think that he could let her go.

            "I'm afraid…" he admitted quietly.

            The look in his eyes, the tone of his voice, told her more than mere words ever could.  He loved her, and it frightened him out of his wits.  She reached up with one hand to caress his cold cheek.

            "Don't be," she murmured.

            As the band began another song, one with the backbeat of a tango, Nick slowly bent his head down and kissed her, his cool tongue delving into her warm, moist mouth, oblivious to the surrounding crowd.  Natalie broke away first, amazed by this new development.  If she had known it would be that easy…

            "I take it you're choosing love then," she said, smiling happily.

            "If that's what you want," Nick said, suddenly unsure of himself.  Had he read the situation wrong?  More importantly, whether he had or he hadn't, could he put Natalie in that sort of danger?  Given his track record with people he loved… His control was tenuous, the result of only drinking steer blood.  He could barely control himself around her as it was.  And what right did he have to take away any chance she had at a normal life?

            "Yes, I do," Natalie said quietly, almost whispering.  "But is it what you want, too?"

            "God, yes," Nick whispered, drowning in her brown eyes.  The only way Natalie knew what he was saying was by seeing the words forming on his lips, and guessing at what they were.  "Since the day I met you."  Heedless of the people around them who were beginning to glance at the couple that had stood unmoving for so long, Nick cupped Natalie's face in his hands.  He tilted up her head so he could kiss her once more, another stolen touch of humanity.  When they were done, Nick led Natalie back to their table, saying, "We're going to have to talk."

            Natalie nodded mutely, suddenly suspicious of his change of heart, no pun intended.  The Nick she knew would have chosen sister - the safer of the two.  As Nick signaled for the check and paid, Natalie mused about that.  It was a given that she would follow him back to the loft to have their 'talk'.  Some things never needed to be said out loud, that being one of them.

            Natalie parked outside of the loft while Nick drove his Caddy in.  Then waited for her, and they went up together.  They were both silent, both collecting their thoughts.  Upstairs, they immediately sat on the couch, bodies angled to face one another.  Natalie tucked her legs underneath her, resting her hands on her knees.

            Nick outlined every single fear or doubt he had, only to have Natalie manage to refute each and every one of them.  It was like she knew what he was going to say ahead of time, and already had an answer ready.  He felt his love for her growing each time she kindly told him he was being an idiot and gave him a reason.  Natalie finally got sick of his overprotective fears, resulting from his undermined self-confidence.

            "Nick, listen to me.  I don't…" She took a deep breath.  She had to say this.  It was, perhaps the only thing that would convince him.  "I don't want to be alone anymore.  I don't want to come home to my apartment and know that there's nowhere I can go, other than here, where I'm just a sister."  The bitterness in her voice surprised even her, and Nick flinched back from it.  "I'm sick of knowing I'll spend every night off alone, but wishing I was with someone.  I'm tired of comparing every man I meet to you, and finding them lacking in some way, of knowing that no one I meet will ever meet up to my standards, that you're the only one who can do that.  All I want is someone who won't sign their cars 'with affection'," she whispered, looking down.

            Nick was silent for a long moment, digesting what she said.  Indirectly, she was saying he was responsible for Roger, and he agreed with her.  If he had just told her the truth, just once… Well, now was as good a time as ever.  Had he said it in the restaurant?  Yes, but somehow, that didn't seem as real to him.  And he bet it seemed the same way to her.

            He put a finger under her chin and tilted her head up.  The tears glimmering in her eyes struck an arrow straight through him.  "By pushing you away like through the way I sign cards, I kept you safe from me.  By lying through my teeth and telling you I felt protective like towards a sister, I could give you the chance to lead a normal life.
  He tenderly caressed the side of her face, then gently traced over her lips with one finger.  "I'm sorry, Nat.  I never meant… But then, I never do, do I?"  He laughed bitterly, sudden struck by the irony of it all.  "I love you Nat…so much it hurts sometimes."  He dropped his hand, and now it was his turn to look away, in shame and embarrassment.

            Natalie took his hands and brought them up to her lips, laying soft kisses on the backs of them.  "I love you too, Nick.  I think maybe I always have."  She felt tears pricking at her eyes.  This couldn't really be happening.  She was never this lucky.  A returning wave of doubt struck her.  "Nick, no pun intended, but what's with this sudden change of heart?"

            Nick seemed to know exactly what she was talking about as he dragged his eyes back to meet hers.  "When I saw you on the floor…and Roger…I realized that I wouldn't know what to do if you weren't by my side.  All I wanted to do was hold you and protect you and keep you safe.  Even before that, I was so insanely jealous… I have been taking you for granted.  But then I didn't say anything because it seemed inappropriate…" Nick reached out to brush a wisp of hair off her face, a touch that quickly turned into a caress.

            Natalie leaned into his hand and let him slowly draw her face forward.  She wished that was what he had done, what he would still do.  She still wanted to be held and comforted - especially on the occasions when she woke up from a nightmare where she was back…there.

            Nick gently captured Natalie's lips with his own, hesitantly at first.  Natalie quickly responded, pulling his body closer to hers.  She could feel a fire racing through her body, the way his touch always ignited.  But, Nick quickly pulled back when eh felt his fangs drop down and his eyes begin to glow.  He turned away, to get himself under control, and when he turned back, her eyes were full of understanding.  He held her face in his hands.

            "Baby steps, okay?  Tiny baby steps?"

            Natalie nodded.  As a new day arrived and the shutters automatically kicked in, Nick put his arms around Natalie and drew her close to him on the couch, and held her.  Together, they fell asleep, safe from the world for the time being.

~~~~{@

            "Hey partner!"  Schanke grinned as Nick entered the precinct.  "Stonetree wants us to go pick up some paperwork at the morgue."  Schanke waited until they were in the Caddy and driving before questioning Nick, "So, did you have fun at dinner, last night?"

            Nick froze, and fought to keep the grin off his face.  "You're kidding.  That was last night?"

            The smile faded off Schanke's face.  "No.  Tell me you didn't forget, Nick.  Tell me you're kidding."  Schanke hadn't actually seen Nick go into the restaurant, or seen the Caddy.  He was supposed to, but… So he had waited outside to pretend he had, so that Grace and Myra wouldn't kill him.

            "Why?  Who was it?" Nick asked immediately.  This was fun.

            "I can't believe you did that," Schanke groaned.

            "Who was it?"  Nick was curious to see if Schanke would spill.

            "Never mind.  Never mind, Nick."  Schanke sighed and stared desolately out the window.  He was going to die.  He knew it.

            As they walked down the halls of the Coroner's Building, Nick checked his watch.  Natalie should have just gotten in.  In fact, near the door to her office, he could hear Grace grilling her.

            "Did you have a nice dinner?"

            "No one was there."

            Nick fought back another smile.  They hadn't planned it, which made it all the more fun.

            "What!"

            "Yeah.  The guy never showed up."

            Nick walked in behind Schanke, so he caught the glare Grace shot his partner.  Out of the corner of her eye, Natalie could see Schanke mouthing, he forgot, and giving a slight shrug.  She looked up to see the merriment twinkling in Nick's eyes.

            "So, what have you got for us, Nat?"  He walked over and perched on the side of her desk.

            Natalie handed Nick the file, half-watching as Grace chewed Schanke out with her eyes.  "My original conclusion was right - suicide.  The rope was tied by a leftie, and she was left-handed.  No foul play was evident."

            Nick sighed.  "It's a shame when one dies that young."

            "Mm."  Both of their eyes were drawn to Schanke and Grace, who were animatedly mouthing things back and forth at each other in the corner.  "Think we should put them out of their misery?" she asked quietly.

            "I don't know.  It's kind of funny." Nick smiled slightly.

            "Are you okay with people knowing…about us?" she asked, quieter still.

            Nick's head turned toward her, his eyes surprised.  He reached out one hand and let his fingers trail down her cheeks.  "Of course I am.  Why wouldn't I be?"

            Natalie caught his hand and held it to her face.  "Your private life is private," she said, mimicking one of his phrases.

            "Not in this case."  He gently kissed her, entirely forgetting about Grace and Schanke.

            "You little liars."  Grace's voice quickly brought them back to reality.  Natalie turned and melted back into Nick's arms, like she belonged there.

            "You can't honestly think I would forget to go somewhere once I promised I would, could you Schank?" Nick asked, his blue eyes sparkling merrily.

            "Thank both of you for the kick in the pants," Natalie said happily.  "The two of us needed that."

            Grace grinned.  "We better be invited to the wedding."

            Nick laughed slightly.  Nervously, Natalie thought.  "We're not getting married, guys."

            Schanke snorted.  "Yeah, right.  And you were 'just friends', too.  Does this mean that you're finally going to be in a good mood again, partner?"

            Nick grimaced slightly.  "I'm sorry for being such a grouch, as of late."

            Schanke and Grace glanced at each other and smiled slightly.  Long ago, they had learned that the moods of Nick and Natalie greatly depended on how their relationship was going.

            " 'S okay, buddy.  So, do we have everything we need?"

            Nick nodded.  "I'll catch up with you, okay Schank?"

            Schanke nodded, a slight grin on his face.  "See ya in a few, buddy."

            Grace followed the pudgy detective out, saying something about work to do.  Once the door was closed, she and Schanke graced each other high-fives and leaned their ears against the door to listen.

            "Myra's been saying they should be together for years.  She's going to be happy."

            They strained their ears as they heard Nick's voice, but couldn't make out the words.  Natalie giggled in response, and then it was quiet.  Grace raised a speculative eyebrow at Schanke.  They pressed their ears back to the door to try and hear more.  Natalie giggled again.  Suddenly, the door was thrown open and they stumbled into Natalie's office.  The head ME burst out laughing at the shocked and guilty looks on their faces.

            "Now, now," Nick scold jokingly.  "Didn't your mothers ever tell you that eavesdropping would make your ears fall off?"

            "Sorry, Nick.  Sorry Nat," Schanke said.

            "Yeah, sorry." Grace added.

            Natalie and Nick laughed.  Nick was in a better mood than he could ever remember himself being in.  He quickly kissed her goodbye, brushing a wisp of hair off her face, heedless of the company.

            "See you after work?" he asked quietly.

            She nodded, and Nick kissed her once more.  Then he and Schanke left.  In the back of his mind, he could hear Schanke ribbing him about Natalie, but didn't really pay attention.  He was too busy floating on Cloud Nine.

*Fin*

(A/N: Well…interesting…this wasn't at all what I had in mind.  And I can't say it came out better than the original idea.  It will do, I suppose.  I can't seem to turn out any good stories, lately.  I came up with two brilliant ideas, and this is the kind of shit that comes out.  I don't know what I'm going to do.  I'll try to do the same with this one as I'm going to try and to with 'Mad World' (which, BTW, if you haven't read, go read please) - write another one more along the lines of what I was thinking.  My most humble and sincere apologies for posting this trash, and kudos to you if you made it this far.  I hope everyone had a happy Thanksgiving.  At least, all of you stupid Americans.  I hate Thanksgiving.  I wish I lived in Canada.  Thanks for reading, be kind in reviewing, I hope you enjoyed.  Addio!)