Lost and Found
By: Kelly Johnson
**********************************************
Disclaimer: The Forever Knight show and its characters belong to Sony and
those who have purchased exclusive rights to show the series. This story
is strictly for fun only and I do not own nor claim ownership to any
character, place, or event in this fiction.
**********************************************
Schanke had finally taken Myra and Jennie on vacation, so Knight had the beat to himself. He was relaxing in the car, keeping his eye on a group of dealers at the corner of the street. It was a slow night for them, so they were drinking to pass the time. Nick was watching a buyer too intently to notice the figure walk up to his car. A crowbar smashed through the window and pulled him out by the neck. He was slammed onto the pavement and savagely beaten by the lone figure. Then he was dragged into an alley across the street and buried under some garbage bags.
Nat tried to reach Nick at his apartment all day, and the department couldn't find him either. Around 5pm a unit stumbled onto the Caddy and saw the smashed window. There was no blood on the street and they searched the neighborhood for him. A few hours after dark, a rusted car pulled up to the alley and someone rummaged through the garbage. No one saw the figure drag Nick into the trunk and bind his limbs tight. The car drove off slowly as Nick faded in and out of consciousness.
**************
The private line in the CERK station rang and Lacroix picked it up.
"Hello?" He had just walked into the station and was due to go on in a few minutes.
"Lacroix, where's Nick?" A worried Nat demanded.
"How should I know? I'm not his sitter last I checked."
"Well he's been gone for a day now, and no one knows where he is. I know him and he would have come to you if he'd decided to move on." Lacroix noted how well Natalie know Nick's habits. He bade Nat good-bye and gathered his things.
"Daniel?" Lacroix walked up to his producer. "Would you mind if I took the night off? I have a small problem I need to take care of."
"Sure see you later, and call me, I have some new ideas to run by you." Daniel popped a tape from a few months back into the system and the Nightcrawler's voice came on over the Toronto airwaves.
Lacroix flew to Nick's apartment and entered through the skylight. Natalie was looking in Nick's fridge and gasped when Lacroix came up behind her.
"I thought I'd find you here, doctor. Found anything of interest?" He walked up to the cold fireplace and looked at the ashes in the bottom.
"Where's Nick, Lacroix?" Natalie confronted him.
"I have no idea, really." Lacroix brushed past the mortal. "If he has moved on, he never mentioned it to me. I haven't seen him for the last three days. He's probably sulking in his guilt somewhere in the company of the rats that infest this city." Lacroix seemed somewhat pleased with his mockery, but Natalie didn't look so amused.
"Where might he be?"
"I don't know, but you might try with where he was seen last. He doesn't travel far."
"Come with me.
"And just why should I?"
"Because he's your son. Or at least he thinks of you as his father. He admires you, what he can of you." She cocked her head sideways a little at Lacroix.
"Well, you do make quite the touching argument, but I will find Nicolas on my own." Lacroix left Natalie alone in the apartment as he flew to the Raven.
Lacroix bought himself a drink as he thought over the situation. When he was finished, he walked over to where he sensed Nick's abandoned Caddy. He approached an officer and took him a few yards away from the scene.
"How is the investigation coming?" He didn't feel the need to waste his energy hypnotizing the young man.
"Not too good, sir. There's no ransom notes or leads yet."
"What makes you think there's been foul play?"
"The window, or course. And the fact that the door was locked. He was pulled out the window."
"Thank you, officer."
"You're welcome, sir." Lacroix let the man return alone to the scene.
"Well, Nicolas. Looks like you might be in deeper than you planned." Lacroix saw Natalie's car pull up and he disappeared into a nearby alley before she could see him.
*****************
Nick woke up in a dark room with his legs and arms bound with steel wire. He struggled quietly for a few minutes, with metal splinters boring themselves into his wrists and ankles. He gave up trying to free himself and his eyes glowed as he looked around the windowless room. It had no furniture, but he could vaguely make out the outline of what looked like a door. Nick began to shimmy his way to the door, but half way across the room a foot set down in front of him and he looked up into a pair of night goggles. The man bent down to Nick's face and smiled, some of his teeth were missing. In his hand was a gun and he hit Nick in the head with the butt of the weapon.
The man turned on the light and took off his goggles. He looked down at the unconscious officer. Then he dragged Nick back to a corner and left the room, turning the light back off. He turned around and felt the edge of the nearly seamless door, with the wallpaper covering it's 3 inches of steel. He slid a bolt home and walked cheerfully down the hall tapping the gun rhythmically on his hip.
"James, old boy; you've really done it this time."
*****************
Natalie was unable to get any information from anyone. Only three officers were left since the car was found, and the forensics team had long picked through Nick's car. As she walked back to her car, movement in the alley across the street caught her attention and she ran across the road. She walked up to the disturbed pile of garbage bags and crouched down. On the pavement were shards of glass and a wallet. She pulled out a tissue and opened it up. Staring back at her was Nick's driver's license.
Lacroix heard Nat mutter Nick's name and moved silently out of the alley. He could sense Nick somewhere, but wherever he was, he was hidden and growing weak. Lacroix flew off as Nat got into her car with the wallet in an evidence bag.
The Captain was set to find Nick at all costs. She had a quarter of the precinct working to locate him, with no luck. The wallet had been wiped clean before Nat had found it, but it was the best lead the department had. They began looking at criminals that had been released recently, and also focused on the drug ring Nick had been tracking. They wound up with nearly 300 suspects. The precinct scrambled and even Nat went out to question the suspects. The forensics unit was re-dispatched to Nick's Caddy and searched the alley for clues. They found one fingerprint on a strewn garbage bag and after painstakingly lifting it, returned quickly to Cohen with the print. They ran it through the database and found no matches. An officer was searching through the national and international databases and came across a Chicago and New York report of two missing officers under the same conditions. They were still missing, but their wallets and cars had been located, along with one fingerprint. The forensics team compared the prints and came up with a nearly perfect match. They only needed to locate the individual and Nick. News was sent out to the officers and Nat. She pulled the car over and stood on the sidewalk. Lacroix landed nearby and she looked up as he approached her.
"You followed me." Nat stated nervously.
"Have you had any luck yet, Doctor?"
"Well, who ever took Nick has done it before. I'm just afraid that this guy, whoever he is, might hurt Nick, or even kill him." Lacroix made no apparent reaction to Natalie's grave statement.
"What else have you learned?"
"Nothing." Lacroix looked suspiciously at Nat. "Nothing else." Lacroix had read her mind, but Nat still thought she had out-witted him and turned to open her car door. She heard Lacroix fly off and hoped that Nick was okay.
*****************
Nick woke up in the darkness again with a small ache on the side of his head. He looked around the darkness and saw he was alone. Then he felt a brief presence nearby.
"Lacroix! Lacroix, help me!" Nick shouted, to realize that his master could not hear him. The sharp quiet of the room pierced his ears as he tried to hear anything through the walls. He knew they were steel, hardly any sound made it to his hypersensitive eardrums. Suddenly, the door opened and sunlight spilled onto Nick's face.
"Ah!" He squirmed out of the light. He shook his head as if it would clear the spots and get rid of the searing pain.
"You're definitely from the night shift." A tenor noted. "The other two were desperate for sunlight even though it blinded them. This ought to make things fun." The door closed again. Nick managed to stand up and hopped towards the door. He leaned against it and shouted until his throat grew raw. Nick collapsed to his knees, out of breath. The door opened again and Nick fell out into a flower-wallpapered hallway. The sun had set and now a thin man with hanging skin stood over him. He was young and unhealthy, but his eyes were piercing and energetic. Nick's brow grew slightly flushed as the man grabbed his hair and dragged him back to the confines of the prison.
Nick woke up about an hour later and leaned against the wall. He was tired and weak, he knew he had lost blood in his fevered sleep as the brine stung his eyes. He wanted Lacroix to be there, to help him. He thought back to a memory where Lacroix had helped him in a time of need. A man that had found out about his secret had cornered him in a shabby barn in one of the French provinces around the Dark Ages. The man had captured Nick and deprived him of any nourishment so he would not be able to fight back. The man had approached with a wooden pike and the morning was pink from the soon to rise sun. He had thrown the doors open to watch Nick burn as he was taken from the Earth. The man was within thrusting distance when Lacroix flew in and took the man's life. He had then tenderly picked up Nick and flown off with the sun threatening their every second of delay. They arrived at another barn where Lacroix and Jeanette nursed Nick back to health in a few hours with the help of a young girl. Nick snapped out of his memory and relaxed against the wall, waiting for his chance to pay back his captor.
*****************
"Captain! Captain!" A rookie yelled into Cohen's office. "I think you wanna see this!" Cohen jumped up from her desk and followed him into the center of the precinct.
"What is it? This had better be important." She walked up behind one of the fingerprint experts.
"I can't believe the Americans didn't think of this!" The man said. "This guy is illusive, but he legally owns a sidearm." A screen popped up with a picture and the matching fingerprint next to it. "Look." He pointed to the screen. Nat walked in at that moment and came up behind Cohen. She took one look at the screen and knew they had found the kidnapper.
"Where does he live!" Nat yelled excitedly. "Someone get an APB out on this guy!"
"Calm down doctor. If you can't keep yourself calm, I'll make you do your job in the morgue instead of helping here." Nat shut her mouth and secretly grabbed a printout of the man. The profile had everything on the guy, including his address and medical history.
Lacroix watched Natalie get into her car and drive out of the parking lot. From his place on the top of the police precinct building he could watch Nat drive down three blocks and make a left. He knew all he needed and flew off in the opposite direction. She was trying to figure out a plan and lose anyone that might be following her. Lacroix knew the building he was going to and landed on the roof. He could hardly sense Nick anymore and walked into the stairwell.
*****************
James walked quietly down the hallway with a gun in the back of his pants. He opened the door and put his night goggles on. After he closed the door, he looked around the room. The officer was slumped in the same corner, with blood beaded on his face. He was breathing faintly and turned his head lethargically in the direction of James.
"He'll never see it coming." James chuckled silently to himself, and pulled to gun out and pointed it at Nick. Suddenly, Nick snarled and charged his abductor. Ignoring the sharp pain, he freed his hands and feet quickly from the steel wire while James was still dazed. Nick walked over and picked up James, the gun lying on the floor across the room. Nick held James in front of him, smelling the blood in the mortal's body. Without a second thought, Nick sank into his neck, feeling the warmth of the blood spread throughout his body. After James stopped struggling, Nick let the body fall to the floor with a large gash where the jugular had been. He opened the door and standing in front of him was a very pleased Lacroix. Nick's eyes were still yellow, and a little of blood ran from his mouth.
Natalie ran into the hallway and saw the two vampires. Lacroix looked at her first, and then Nick with his toothy gape.
"Nat." He whispered despairingly and she turned and ran off. "Lacroix, why didn't you."
"Nicolas, when will you learn. You are old enough to take care of yourself. And haven't I told you before that they can never fully understand what you are? How long have I been trying to tell you that." Nick turned and jogged after Nat, catching her right before she left her parking spot. Nick stood in front of her car with a pitiful look that contradicted his wild, yellow eyes.
"Natalie, please." Nat rolled down her window.
"Get out of the way, Nick." She said coldly. Nick stood off to the side and Nat left for her apartment. Lacroix came out of the house and took Nick tot he Raven. He ordered Nick a couple of drinks to help him recover a little before he returned to the precinct.
*****************
"Captain! Captain! He's here! Nick's back!" Some one yelled when Nick staggered through the door. A couple officers grabbed his arms and set him down in the nearest chair.
"Some one call the hospital. Get an ambulance here, fast." She instructed, but Nick weakly held his hand up.
"Don't worry, I'll be fine. Just feeling a little beat, that's all."
"You're kidding, right?"
"No."
"If that's how you're going to be. Anyway, what happened to you Knight?"
"I was kidnapped, and roughed up a little. When I escaped, I hurt him pretty badly."
"Well, we're all glad to have you back, Knight. I'll have someone drive you home."
"Thanks, Captain." Nick got up and an officer started to help him out the door.
"And Nick?"
"Yeah."
"Take the week off."
*****************
Schanke came back from his trip four days later and visited Nick to make sure he was all right. Nick told him that he was perfectly fine and managed to chase him out of his apartment after an hour and a half. Lacroix had gone back to the radio station and was on in about thirty minutes and Nick didn't want to miss the show. While he was listening to the soothing tone of his master, Nick thought about Natalie and picked up the phone. He dialed her number and got the machine.
"Hey, Nat." Nick sheepishly greeted her. "Look, I'm sorry about earlier this week. Please don't be angry with me. I hope you can understand. You know where you can reach me." Natalie looked at the machine as Nick talked. She picked up the phone before Nick hung up.
"Nick?"
"Yes, Nat."
"I'm sorry. I'm glad you're back. I really missed you."
THE END
Schanke had finally taken Myra and Jennie on vacation, so Knight had the beat to himself. He was relaxing in the car, keeping his eye on a group of dealers at the corner of the street. It was a slow night for them, so they were drinking to pass the time. Nick was watching a buyer too intently to notice the figure walk up to his car. A crowbar smashed through the window and pulled him out by the neck. He was slammed onto the pavement and savagely beaten by the lone figure. Then he was dragged into an alley across the street and buried under some garbage bags.
Nat tried to reach Nick at his apartment all day, and the department couldn't find him either. Around 5pm a unit stumbled onto the Caddy and saw the smashed window. There was no blood on the street and they searched the neighborhood for him. A few hours after dark, a rusted car pulled up to the alley and someone rummaged through the garbage. No one saw the figure drag Nick into the trunk and bind his limbs tight. The car drove off slowly as Nick faded in and out of consciousness.
**************
The private line in the CERK station rang and Lacroix picked it up.
"Hello?" He had just walked into the station and was due to go on in a few minutes.
"Lacroix, where's Nick?" A worried Nat demanded.
"How should I know? I'm not his sitter last I checked."
"Well he's been gone for a day now, and no one knows where he is. I know him and he would have come to you if he'd decided to move on." Lacroix noted how well Natalie know Nick's habits. He bade Nat good-bye and gathered his things.
"Daniel?" Lacroix walked up to his producer. "Would you mind if I took the night off? I have a small problem I need to take care of."
"Sure see you later, and call me, I have some new ideas to run by you." Daniel popped a tape from a few months back into the system and the Nightcrawler's voice came on over the Toronto airwaves.
Lacroix flew to Nick's apartment and entered through the skylight. Natalie was looking in Nick's fridge and gasped when Lacroix came up behind her.
"I thought I'd find you here, doctor. Found anything of interest?" He walked up to the cold fireplace and looked at the ashes in the bottom.
"Where's Nick, Lacroix?" Natalie confronted him.
"I have no idea, really." Lacroix brushed past the mortal. "If he has moved on, he never mentioned it to me. I haven't seen him for the last three days. He's probably sulking in his guilt somewhere in the company of the rats that infest this city." Lacroix seemed somewhat pleased with his mockery, but Natalie didn't look so amused.
"Where might he be?"
"I don't know, but you might try with where he was seen last. He doesn't travel far."
"Come with me.
"And just why should I?"
"Because he's your son. Or at least he thinks of you as his father. He admires you, what he can of you." She cocked her head sideways a little at Lacroix.
"Well, you do make quite the touching argument, but I will find Nicolas on my own." Lacroix left Natalie alone in the apartment as he flew to the Raven.
Lacroix bought himself a drink as he thought over the situation. When he was finished, he walked over to where he sensed Nick's abandoned Caddy. He approached an officer and took him a few yards away from the scene.
"How is the investigation coming?" He didn't feel the need to waste his energy hypnotizing the young man.
"Not too good, sir. There's no ransom notes or leads yet."
"What makes you think there's been foul play?"
"The window, or course. And the fact that the door was locked. He was pulled out the window."
"Thank you, officer."
"You're welcome, sir." Lacroix let the man return alone to the scene.
"Well, Nicolas. Looks like you might be in deeper than you planned." Lacroix saw Natalie's car pull up and he disappeared into a nearby alley before she could see him.
*****************
Nick woke up in a dark room with his legs and arms bound with steel wire. He struggled quietly for a few minutes, with metal splinters boring themselves into his wrists and ankles. He gave up trying to free himself and his eyes glowed as he looked around the windowless room. It had no furniture, but he could vaguely make out the outline of what looked like a door. Nick began to shimmy his way to the door, but half way across the room a foot set down in front of him and he looked up into a pair of night goggles. The man bent down to Nick's face and smiled, some of his teeth were missing. In his hand was a gun and he hit Nick in the head with the butt of the weapon.
The man turned on the light and took off his goggles. He looked down at the unconscious officer. Then he dragged Nick back to a corner and left the room, turning the light back off. He turned around and felt the edge of the nearly seamless door, with the wallpaper covering it's 3 inches of steel. He slid a bolt home and walked cheerfully down the hall tapping the gun rhythmically on his hip.
"James, old boy; you've really done it this time."
*****************
Natalie was unable to get any information from anyone. Only three officers were left since the car was found, and the forensics team had long picked through Nick's car. As she walked back to her car, movement in the alley across the street caught her attention and she ran across the road. She walked up to the disturbed pile of garbage bags and crouched down. On the pavement were shards of glass and a wallet. She pulled out a tissue and opened it up. Staring back at her was Nick's driver's license.
Lacroix heard Nat mutter Nick's name and moved silently out of the alley. He could sense Nick somewhere, but wherever he was, he was hidden and growing weak. Lacroix flew off as Nat got into her car with the wallet in an evidence bag.
The Captain was set to find Nick at all costs. She had a quarter of the precinct working to locate him, with no luck. The wallet had been wiped clean before Nat had found it, but it was the best lead the department had. They began looking at criminals that had been released recently, and also focused on the drug ring Nick had been tracking. They wound up with nearly 300 suspects. The precinct scrambled and even Nat went out to question the suspects. The forensics unit was re-dispatched to Nick's Caddy and searched the alley for clues. They found one fingerprint on a strewn garbage bag and after painstakingly lifting it, returned quickly to Cohen with the print. They ran it through the database and found no matches. An officer was searching through the national and international databases and came across a Chicago and New York report of two missing officers under the same conditions. They were still missing, but their wallets and cars had been located, along with one fingerprint. The forensics team compared the prints and came up with a nearly perfect match. They only needed to locate the individual and Nick. News was sent out to the officers and Nat. She pulled the car over and stood on the sidewalk. Lacroix landed nearby and she looked up as he approached her.
"You followed me." Nat stated nervously.
"Have you had any luck yet, Doctor?"
"Well, who ever took Nick has done it before. I'm just afraid that this guy, whoever he is, might hurt Nick, or even kill him." Lacroix made no apparent reaction to Natalie's grave statement.
"What else have you learned?"
"Nothing." Lacroix looked suspiciously at Nat. "Nothing else." Lacroix had read her mind, but Nat still thought she had out-witted him and turned to open her car door. She heard Lacroix fly off and hoped that Nick was okay.
*****************
Nick woke up in the darkness again with a small ache on the side of his head. He looked around the darkness and saw he was alone. Then he felt a brief presence nearby.
"Lacroix! Lacroix, help me!" Nick shouted, to realize that his master could not hear him. The sharp quiet of the room pierced his ears as he tried to hear anything through the walls. He knew they were steel, hardly any sound made it to his hypersensitive eardrums. Suddenly, the door opened and sunlight spilled onto Nick's face.
"Ah!" He squirmed out of the light. He shook his head as if it would clear the spots and get rid of the searing pain.
"You're definitely from the night shift." A tenor noted. "The other two were desperate for sunlight even though it blinded them. This ought to make things fun." The door closed again. Nick managed to stand up and hopped towards the door. He leaned against it and shouted until his throat grew raw. Nick collapsed to his knees, out of breath. The door opened again and Nick fell out into a flower-wallpapered hallway. The sun had set and now a thin man with hanging skin stood over him. He was young and unhealthy, but his eyes were piercing and energetic. Nick's brow grew slightly flushed as the man grabbed his hair and dragged him back to the confines of the prison.
Nick woke up about an hour later and leaned against the wall. He was tired and weak, he knew he had lost blood in his fevered sleep as the brine stung his eyes. He wanted Lacroix to be there, to help him. He thought back to a memory where Lacroix had helped him in a time of need. A man that had found out about his secret had cornered him in a shabby barn in one of the French provinces around the Dark Ages. The man had captured Nick and deprived him of any nourishment so he would not be able to fight back. The man had approached with a wooden pike and the morning was pink from the soon to rise sun. He had thrown the doors open to watch Nick burn as he was taken from the Earth. The man was within thrusting distance when Lacroix flew in and took the man's life. He had then tenderly picked up Nick and flown off with the sun threatening their every second of delay. They arrived at another barn where Lacroix and Jeanette nursed Nick back to health in a few hours with the help of a young girl. Nick snapped out of his memory and relaxed against the wall, waiting for his chance to pay back his captor.
*****************
"Captain! Captain!" A rookie yelled into Cohen's office. "I think you wanna see this!" Cohen jumped up from her desk and followed him into the center of the precinct.
"What is it? This had better be important." She walked up behind one of the fingerprint experts.
"I can't believe the Americans didn't think of this!" The man said. "This guy is illusive, but he legally owns a sidearm." A screen popped up with a picture and the matching fingerprint next to it. "Look." He pointed to the screen. Nat walked in at that moment and came up behind Cohen. She took one look at the screen and knew they had found the kidnapper.
"Where does he live!" Nat yelled excitedly. "Someone get an APB out on this guy!"
"Calm down doctor. If you can't keep yourself calm, I'll make you do your job in the morgue instead of helping here." Nat shut her mouth and secretly grabbed a printout of the man. The profile had everything on the guy, including his address and medical history.
Lacroix watched Natalie get into her car and drive out of the parking lot. From his place on the top of the police precinct building he could watch Nat drive down three blocks and make a left. He knew all he needed and flew off in the opposite direction. She was trying to figure out a plan and lose anyone that might be following her. Lacroix knew the building he was going to and landed on the roof. He could hardly sense Nick anymore and walked into the stairwell.
*****************
James walked quietly down the hallway with a gun in the back of his pants. He opened the door and put his night goggles on. After he closed the door, he looked around the room. The officer was slumped in the same corner, with blood beaded on his face. He was breathing faintly and turned his head lethargically in the direction of James.
"He'll never see it coming." James chuckled silently to himself, and pulled to gun out and pointed it at Nick. Suddenly, Nick snarled and charged his abductor. Ignoring the sharp pain, he freed his hands and feet quickly from the steel wire while James was still dazed. Nick walked over and picked up James, the gun lying on the floor across the room. Nick held James in front of him, smelling the blood in the mortal's body. Without a second thought, Nick sank into his neck, feeling the warmth of the blood spread throughout his body. After James stopped struggling, Nick let the body fall to the floor with a large gash where the jugular had been. He opened the door and standing in front of him was a very pleased Lacroix. Nick's eyes were still yellow, and a little of blood ran from his mouth.
Natalie ran into the hallway and saw the two vampires. Lacroix looked at her first, and then Nick with his toothy gape.
"Nat." He whispered despairingly and she turned and ran off. "Lacroix, why didn't you."
"Nicolas, when will you learn. You are old enough to take care of yourself. And haven't I told you before that they can never fully understand what you are? How long have I been trying to tell you that." Nick turned and jogged after Nat, catching her right before she left her parking spot. Nick stood in front of her car with a pitiful look that contradicted his wild, yellow eyes.
"Natalie, please." Nat rolled down her window.
"Get out of the way, Nick." She said coldly. Nick stood off to the side and Nat left for her apartment. Lacroix came out of the house and took Nick tot he Raven. He ordered Nick a couple of drinks to help him recover a little before he returned to the precinct.
*****************
"Captain! Captain! He's here! Nick's back!" Some one yelled when Nick staggered through the door. A couple officers grabbed his arms and set him down in the nearest chair.
"Some one call the hospital. Get an ambulance here, fast." She instructed, but Nick weakly held his hand up.
"Don't worry, I'll be fine. Just feeling a little beat, that's all."
"You're kidding, right?"
"No."
"If that's how you're going to be. Anyway, what happened to you Knight?"
"I was kidnapped, and roughed up a little. When I escaped, I hurt him pretty badly."
"Well, we're all glad to have you back, Knight. I'll have someone drive you home."
"Thanks, Captain." Nick got up and an officer started to help him out the door.
"And Nick?"
"Yeah."
"Take the week off."
*****************
Schanke came back from his trip four days later and visited Nick to make sure he was all right. Nick told him that he was perfectly fine and managed to chase him out of his apartment after an hour and a half. Lacroix had gone back to the radio station and was on in about thirty minutes and Nick didn't want to miss the show. While he was listening to the soothing tone of his master, Nick thought about Natalie and picked up the phone. He dialed her number and got the machine.
"Hey, Nat." Nick sheepishly greeted her. "Look, I'm sorry about earlier this week. Please don't be angry with me. I hope you can understand. You know where you can reach me." Natalie looked at the machine as Nick talked. She picked up the phone before Nick hung up.
"Nick?"
"Yes, Nat."
"I'm sorry. I'm glad you're back. I really missed you."
THE END