The soft knock on his door woke him. "It's me Nick." Rachel said from the other side of the door.
"It's open." He answered, sitting up and switching on the lights. "What's up?" He asked as soon as Rachel had the door open.
Rachel smiled when she heard the touch of hope in his voice. No action in almost two weeks was enough to annoy her, she could barely imagine how annoyed her ex-SEAL coworker was getting.
"Nothing serious. One of my patients at the hospital had another breakdown, and I just want to go over there and make sure everything's all right. Could you just keep an ear open for Kat? She's a sleep already."
Nick nodded, smiling. "You'll be home later?"
"I should be. I'll give you a call in the morning if I'm not here."
With one last smile and a thank you, Rachel left the room. Nick had been glad when she had deiced to spend the weekend over at the house, everyone else had been gone. Alex had been visiting one of her college friends in Oregon, and Derek had been guest lecturing at a college. The house had been very empty for the first part of the week, nearly driving him insane with boredom.
Nick laid back down, shutting the light off. He quickly drifted back to sleep. It was almost two hours later when Kat's scream woke him up.
He was sitting up and pulling off the covers before his eyes were nearly focused. He debated grabbing his gun, then deiced against it. In all likely hood, it was just a bad dream. Running in to her room with a gun drawn would be no way to comfort a scared child. He quickly ran from the room, not caring that he was half dressed or barefoot.
"Kat?" He called, halfway down the hall, seeing with some worry that the door to the girl's room was ajar.
"Nick!?" Frightened and half awake.
He relaxed slightly, just a nightmare. Kat appeared in the door way, her eyes going wide as she looked at him. That was all the warning he got, before he was suddenly flying forwards, his flight only stopped by the wall at the other end of the hall.
He fought to stay conscious, knowing that whatever had thrown him wasn't gone. He was about to fight his way to his feet when he heard Kat scream again. That was all he needed to get to his feet.
"Nick!" Kat yelled again, close this time.
His vision cleared enough to she her trying to pull away from nothing. He blinked, realized that whatever had her was pulling her along the hallway. And from the look in her eyes, she could see it.
He charged after her, scared by the amount of fear in her eyes. He was about two feet away when Kat was spun around, facing him. The little girl gave him a two-second warning before something hit him, smashing into his side and knocking him down. Kat screamed again, this time his name. Fighting to breathe, Nick got to his knees just as Kat and her invisible kidnapper reached the head of the stairs.
A steady stream of curses left his mouth as he get to his legs and followed for the second time, hoping Kat wound give him a warning again if the creature took another swing at him.
He reached the bottom of the stairs just as Kat reached the door, and was gone outside into the storm that seemed to have picked up in the past few hours. Nick ran faster, afraid to lose the little girl in the dark.
He hardly registered the headlights as he ran across the driveway, narrowly missing getting struck by Derek's car. Nor did he register Derek's calls after him. He just kept running after Kat, not knowing who or what had her.
Praying he didn't really hurt Kat, he leapt at her, successfully tackling her. For a second he could feel the resistance of the invisible creature, then Kat was completely trapped under his body.
"What's it doin'?" He asked her breathlessly.
"It disappeared!" The little girl said.
He sat up, wincing, for the first time noticing the sharp pains in his side. "You all right, Kitty Kat?" He asked as soon as she sat up.
"What was that?"
He just shook his head, gasping to hard to answer. He noticed Derek was standing less the two feet away, a very confused, very concerned look on his face.
"What are you doin' here?" Nick asked, finally hauling himself to his feet, wrapping one arm protectively around his side.
"I had a vision. I tried to call but the phones have been knocked out. What happened?"
Nick looked up at the sky which was still pelting down rain at them. All three of them were already drenched. "Let's go inside first." He said, picked Kat up, making sure to hold her on his uninjured side.
By the time all there were dressed in dry clothing, and seated near the fire place it was almost five in the morning. Outside the Legacy house, the rain continued to pound down on the bay, making travel to the island impossible. It made Nick wonder what Derek had been thinking taking a boat over.
Derek, for the most part, was remembering his vision on his young, headstrong coworker flying down the hallway. He didn't need to ask where the bruise just over the ex-SEAL's left eye came from, but he did anyway, wanting to get a complete understanding of what had happened.
"I don't fly too well, Derek." Nick mumbled in response. "Every time I attempt it I wind up flying into something."
"You were thrown." Kat said from her position just next to him on the couch.
"Got some good air though, didn't I?" He asked, smirking down at his serious looking friend. He was trying to calm her down, he could feel how tense she was, and that look of complete fear still lingered in her eyes.
"What threw you?" Derek asked, glad that he was getting sarcastic comments out of Nick. At least that meant that he was more or less himself, and that his head injury wasn't too bad.
"Didn't see it."
"At all?"
"No. Kat could."
Derek looked at Kat, smiling gently. "What did it look like, Kat?"
"A monster."
"What kind of monster?" Derek probed, needing something to go on.
"Big."
He decided not to push the little girl any further and instead looked back up at Nick. "What about you? You didn't see it at all?"
"No."
Derek sighed, leaning back in his chair. A 'monster' for lack of a better word, who adults couldn't see. That was a lot to go on.
For a while there was silence, which was interrupted by Kat's yawn. Nick looked down at her, realizing how tiring the last few hours must have been for her. Hell, he was wiped out and this sort of things were normal to him.
"Come on, I'll take you back up to bed." Something flashed across her eyes, fear. "I'll stay with you, don't worry."
Nick didn't wait for Derek to say anything, just lead her out of the room.
When Rachel came into her daughter's bedroom nearly five hours later a she found the two asleep, Kat under the covers, Nick laying on top of them, one arm slung protectively over her. Derek had told her everything that happened -what little information he could get out of the two anyway. She just needed to see that her daughter was safe.
Rachel was about to back out of the room when Nick stirred, going from sleep to fully awake in just a few seconds. He was immediately sitting up and facing the door. He relaxed as soon as he saw it was Rachel. Wincing, he hoped he wouldn't have to move that fast again in the near future.
"Derek said he thought you hurt yourself, but you wouldn't let him look at you." Rachel said in a whisper, not wanting to wake her sleeping daughter.
Nick shrugged. "I think it's just bruises, I'm all right."
Rachel raised her eye brows. "I'm the doctor, let me be the judge of that."
Knowing his was beat, Nick lifted up the left side of his shirt, showing Rachel the dark bruise that had already started to form.
"Looks a lot worse then it hurts." He said, knowing it was futile. He could tell right away from the look in Rachel's eyes were he was going.
Rachel was about to confirm what she could tell her friend already understood, when Kat woke up. At seeing her mother in the room, Kat smiled, and reached for her, hugging her tight.
"There was a monster, Mommy!" Kat explained into her mother's shoulder. "An' it tried to take me, and it hurt Nick, and it was really ugly, but Derek and Nick couldn't see it and..." The little girl ran out of words, but kept her death grip on her mother's shoulder.
"It's okay Kat. We're going to find out what it was." Rachel assured, returning her daughter's fierce hug.
Nick stood and left the room, knowing that Kat would be well protected by her mother, should anything else come up. He headed towards his room, wanting nothing more then a shower and some clean clothes before he would go and see what Derek had come up with.
Feeling clean, and more awake, Nick was halfway towards the library when Rachel stopped him. Kat was still with her. He was unsure of who wasn't letting go of who though.
"Where are you going?" Rachel asked him.
He had a good idea it wasn't where he planed. "Library."
"Derek wants me to make sure you're not hurt before you do anything else."
"He needs help researching, trying to figure out what the hell that thing last night was." Nick tried, he really hated hospitals.
"Alex is in there with him."
"When did she come in?" He asked, surprised he didn't hear her come in. Normally, even the slightest sounds woke him.
"About two hours before I did. Derek didn't even let her go to her room, just ushered her into the library." Rachel paused, then went on. "Go get your jacket."
Knowing he was beaten, and honestly not feeling like putting up a fight, Nick did as told. When he came back out into the hall, he was surprised to see that Kat was accompanying them on their little trip.
Rachel should've known it all wouldn't have gone easy. She managed to get Nick to the hospital and examined. Now, on the ferry back to the Island, she finally ran into trouble.
"I'm not taking them, Rachel." Nick protested, eyeing the small bottle of pills as if it was poison.
"Why not?" She questioned, eyes not on Nick but on Kat who was standing a few feet away, watching for the mansion to come into view.
"Two reasons, one, I'm not hurt that bad, two cracked ribs isn't so horrible, Rachel. Two, they screw up my head." He dropped the volume of his voice lower, not wanting the other passengers on the ferry to hear. "We don't know if that thing's gonna come back or not."
"What help are you if you can hardly breath?"
"I can't breath fully because I've got a mile of bandages around me!" he shot back, annoyed now. He was supposed to protect the Legacy members. It was his job, and he sure as hell wasn't taking anything that would make him drowsy if that creature could come back again.
Rachel didn't say anything, but her disapproval showed in her eyes.
"Sorry to interrupt, but dinner's almost ready." Dominick said, poking his head into the library where most of the house's occupants were in the room.
The three adults and one child all nodded their heads, Derek mumbling a thank you.
"I'll go get Nick!" Kat offered, glad to get out of the library. Her mother wasn't letting her alone for a minute, which was starting to get annoying. She glanced at her Mom, saw her nod and left the room.
Nick and Rachel had reached a compromise, she wouldn't make him take the pain killers if he laid down in his room. He told her he doubted he was going to sleep, but did as she asked. He did fall asleep, which was why when Kat screamed after opening the door to his room, he was so surprised.
He sat up immediately and turned to face the terrified girl, body protesting against the swift movements. Her eyes weren't locked on him, but rather a spot in the corner of the room.
"What?" He asked, already standing.
"It's in your room!" She said, eyes wide.
That was enough motivation to get him moving. He ran out the door, Kat inches in front of him. They where halfway to the stairs when Nick felt himself being lifted, and then thrown. He went over the wooden railing, Kat screaming his name as he fell.
He hit the ground hard on his left shoulder, his head smacking into the wood flooring next. With a groan, he pulled himself to his feet, right hand wrapped around to support his shoulder. Rachel was already at the foot of the stairs, running towards her frightened daughter, Derek and Alex were coming at him.
There images wavered for a second, and Kat yelled that it was downstairs. Nick froze, tried to see that blur again. Something struck him in the chest, knocking him on his back, sending another wave of pain through his shoulder. Again, he fought to get to his feet. Derek and Alex were close now, less then two feet away, suddenly, they were on the ground too.
Nick tensed up, waiting, knowing that there was going to be more of an attack. Derek and Alex pulled themselves up, and came towards him again. They stood on either side of him,
"KAT!" He yelled, sides protesting greatly. "What's it doin'?"
"It's looking at you."
"We won't let you take her." He said to an enemy that he couldn't see.
He could hear Rachel's and Kat's decent of the stairs, but kept his eyes locked on the space in front of him. He could feel Derek and Alex were doing the same. It stayed like that from a long time, then finally Kat spoke.
"It disappeared." She said, relief in her voice.
Nick looked at his coworkers, saw that the relief was not mirrored in their own faces. It wasn't over.
"That was twice in less then twenty-four hours." Nick said, his left arm in a sling.
Rachel was again telling him he should take the pain medicine, and again he didn't want to. The idea of relief from the pain in his sides and arm (not mentioning the killer headache he now had) was enough to make him want to take it. But that thing had been in his room! In all likely hood, the 'monster' (for lack of a better word) was extremely annoyed with him. If he had taken the pills like Rachel wanted, he probably wouldn't have reacted as fast to Kat's screams, and then what would've happened?
At the moment, the three of them, Kat again accompanied them to the hospital, were waiting for the ferry in the blazer.
"Why don't you stay here, Rachel?" Nick asked as he saw the ferry start over from the other side.
"Because there's so much to do back at the house. Derek and Alex could use the help researching."
"But you dunno if that thing's just on the island. It could be safer to stay over here."
"I think it's more afraid of a lot of people then anything else. Plus the house is safer."
"It seems to get past security pretty easily."
"But more people will come running if Kat sees it again."
Nick gave up, not understanding why Rachel was so set against staying at her apartment. He leaned back in the seat and closed his eyes. He was exhausted, and fighting whit Rachel wasn't helping.
He started to drift off just before the ferry docked.
"I've found it!" Alex said triumphantly, glancing around the room at her coworkers.
Derek looked up from the book he had been searching, and rose from his seat to stand behind Alex. The room's other two occupants didn't move. Kat was coloring on the floor, an attempt to draw what she had seen. Nick was sitting a few feet away from he table, eyes out the window. He had given up almost an hour before, all the reading of small print was making his headache worse. The same patient that was having trouble before was again having problems -Rachel was forced to leave and go back to the hospital.
"What is it?" Nick asked from his position. The idea of moving sounded like too much.
"A demon, feeds on the innocence of children. One child every seven years."
Nick swallowed his mouth suddenly dry. "How do you stop it?" He was already stiffly moving to his feet.
"Apparently, if it goes after the child it chooses, and is stopped it has six more nights to get the child away from her home. It systematically goes after whoever stopped it, trying to get the child. It can only come once a night. If it doesn't get the child in the time period, it can't return for twenty-one years."
"My Got." Derek said.
"So we've got another five nights with this thing?" Nick asked, worried.
"Yes. And it's probably very mad at you, Nick." Alex answered.
Nick was about to say something, when all three were startled by a sound behind them. They all spun, coming face to face with a very distraught Katherine Corrigan. The little girl's colored pencils lay all over the floor, the sound was of the girl dropping them. She looked at the three with painfilled eyes then abruptly turned and ran from the room.
Nick looked back at Derek and Alex who were both starting after the upset child. "I'll go," He said, and left the room slower then Kat had, for the obvious reasons.
'Oh please tell me she didn't go up the stairs.' Nick thought coming out of the library. The thought of running up and down all those stairs was enough to make him feel even more tired.
"Kat!?" He called, coming into the parlor. He glanced at the couch, not surprised to see something move it the shadows underneath it.
He went there, carefully bending to look under, not surprised to find Kat laying there on her stomach, head on her folded arms. She was crying. Nick felt his own heart twist a little at seeing the little girl cry.
"I don't think the two of us can fit under there." He said, smiling gently at Kat.
"Go away!"
"Why? Don't like me all of a sudden?"
"It's gonna hurt you because of me!" Kat yelled, tears coming harder now.
"Oh Kitty Kat," He said, actually feeling tears well up in his own eyes. "None of this is your fault."
"Yes it is! It wants me, and you tried to stop it and you got hurt, and it's gonna hurt you worse!"
"Can you come out, please?"
"No!"
"Well then I'm staying here too."
"NO!" She screamed louder.
"What do you want me to do? Leave so it can hurt you?"
"Yes!"
"Kat, I wouldn't do that as long as I can breath. I've been knocked around before, I'll be fine."
"But it's gonna come again! For another five times!"
He wasn't too good at this, was he? "Kitty Kat, do you think your Mom's gonna let it hurt you?"
"No."
"Well, I'm not gonna either."
"But it's mad at you!"
"It will be mad at your Mom too. Are you gonna make her run away too?"
"It'll kill you, Nick!"
"Derek and Alex, and your Mom won't let that happen."
"How can you stop it if you can't see it?"
"That's why we need your help Kat. You can see it. We need you to warn us when it's here."
Silence.
"Wanna come out of there now?" He asked gently.
"Okay."
He smiled again as the little girl pulled herself out from under the couch. Her face was tear streaked, but she wasn't crying any longer. The two sat on the couch in silence for a few moments before Kat spoke.
"Do you really think that you guys can stop it?" She asked, not looking at Nick.
"We're gonna try as hard as we can, Kitty Kat." He answered, wondering if their best was good enough.
It was one in the afternoon when the unexpected, but always welcome, guest knocked on the door. He was surprised when only Dominick answered the door. Normally at least one member of the Legacy team came to greet him.
"Where is everyone?" Philip asked, coming into the house.
"Asleep."
"At one?"
"Apparently it was an interesting night." Dominick answered.
"Is everyone all right?" Philip asked, concerned. His eyes finding the broken spot in the railing.
"Mr. Boyle was taken to the emergency room, but he assures me he's fine. He was awake a few hours ago when I came in the library. As far as I know, he's still in there."
Philip nodded, heading straight for the library, wanting some kind of answers. He found Nick a sleep at the table. Philip looked at a few of the books strewn about the table, confused as to what could've been the problem. He finally came to rest at a picture that was drawn in colored pencils. It gave him the chills to look at it.
"Philip!" Nick said, sitting up, wincing as he tried to get tight muscles to loosen up. "What are you doing here?"
"I was in town and thought I'd see how things were. Not so good from what I see."
Nick pointed at the picture, not standing up. "That thing's after Kat. It only comes at night..and none of us can see it."
"God." Philip whispered, eyes still on the picture. "What happened to you?"
"It threw me over the railing." He offered in explanation.
"Are you all right?"
"I dislocated my shoulder and broke my collar bone." He offered, knowing Philip wouldn't settle for the typical 'I'm fine'. "It's gonna come back tonight, Philip."
"Can we stop it?"
Nick was never surprised how quickly Philip added himself it. "We have to keep it from getting Kat and it'll go away from twenty-one years."
"Do you think it's possible."
He wanted to say yes. He truly did, but he couldn't. He just gave a lopsided shrug before sitting back down at the table.
"Philip!" Kat yelled, coming into the library where the two men had set up camp. It was almost four in the afternoon.
He smiled and enveloped the little girl in a hug. She held him tightly. She finally pulled away and looked at Nick who had once again fallen asleep at the table, his head resting on his uninjured arm.
"Mommy told me to make sure he went to bed." She said, a hint of annoyance in her voice.
Philip could only image what Rachel had to go to get Nick to even go to the hospital, let alone trying to get him to rest and not help.
"When did you all go to bed?" The priest asked.
"Around eight."
"In the morning!"
The little girl nodded. "I fell asleep. They woke me up trying to carry me upstairs."
"Where's your Mom?"
She shrugged. "I guess she's still at the hospital -one of her patients tried to kill himself again."
As if to drive the point home, the phone rang. Philip answered it without thinking, hoping that it didn't wake Nick, from what he gathered, the young man had little sleep the past few nights.
"Hello?" He said into the phone.
"PHILIP!?" Rachel asked, surprise in her voice. "Why are you there?"
"I was in two and thought I'd come by. Not a week for visitin' is it?"
"No, it's not. Is Kat awake? I called earlier, but only Nick was up. He's a sleep now, right?"
Philip smiled despite the situation. "Yes, he is. And Kat's right here."
He handed the phone off to the little girl who took it eagerly. "Mommy?" She asked.
"I'm right here honey. I'll be home a little later. I'm so sorry I had to leave last night."
"It's okay. That man needed help. Nothing else happened."
"Good. I'll try to be back by dark, okay?"
"Okay."
"I love you Kitty Kat."
"I love you too." She said, the put the phone back down in it's cradle.
Derek had a fun time of chewing out the chief security officer -once the man in question woke up. Philip, Alex, and Kat stood there silently as Derek explained quiet tiredly to Nick that he should've went upstairs to sleep, not pass out at the table.
"I couldn't sleep." Nick said, truthfully.
"When you pass out from exhaustion, you're not going to be of much help."
"I'm fine." Nick insisted. The argument was making his head hurt worse. His sides were completely stiff from sleeping they way he had, but he wasn't tired when he was in his room.
Doubt shown in Derek's eyes. "You are far from fine."
Nick sighed and leaned back in the chair. He was tired of being told he needed to rest. His body would tell him if he did. Last night, he had wanted to sleep, but when did in his room, he had a nightmare again, one he couldn't remember. He had deiced to do another security check, and wound up in the library, looking over some of the information they had uncovered.
Seeing the doors close up in Nick's eyes, Derek gave up, knowing that he wasn't going to listen any longer. That was when Dominic chose to come in.
"I've prepared a meal." The man smiled. "I'm not sure what meal it's supposed to be considered, but it's ready."
Nick grinned, glad that man had finally developed a sense of humor. He stood, realizing he hadn't really eaten in a while.
All four made their way into the dining room, all aware that the sun had just set outside.
It was ten o'clock when Kat was really starting to get nervous. Her mother hadn't came home or called. She could tell by the looks on everyone else's faces that they were just as worried. Nick and Alex were in the control room, going over all the cameras, hoping that Rachel was on the island.
"Derek, can you come here?" Alex called, her voice was controlled. Kat, ignoring Philip's protests went into the room with Derek.
"MOMMY!" She screamed after watching the video replay. The monster had attacked her mother and pulled her out of the camera's view.
"We'll find her Kat." Nick assured, moving to kneel next to the now crying child. He pulled her into a hug, eyes raised and questioning Derek.
"Come on, Alex. We'll go down to the dock. You and Philip stay here."
Nick nodded, still doing his best to comfort the distraught child.
The two left silently. Once they were gone, Nick stood, awkwardly picking Kat up and taking her with him. He found Philip in the library, sitting at the table, his eyes showing his concern and confusion. Kat was still crying, he could feel her body shuddering with every sob.
"It'll be okay, Kitty Kat." He said sitting her on the edge of the long table.
"It'll hurt her!" The little girl sobbed.
"Derek and Alex are going to find her and help her. Don't worry."
He looked at Philip for help. The priest started over, his image wavering for a second. Nick had no time to warn the priest before he went flying backwards, hitting into one of the many book shelves.
Kat screamed. Nick instinctively stood in front of the little girl, eyes scanning for that small disturbance. On the floor, Philip was groaning and pulling himself to his feet. Nick looked that way, concern in his eyes, terrified that the demon would go try to hurt the priest more.
"Nick look out!" Kat said in his ear. The little girl was kneeling on the table, searching the room. Nick didn't move, afraid that he'd give the demon a clear path to the terrified girl.
Something grabbed him by his neck, and lifted him, pulling him off the ground. Nick struggled with the unseen monster, feeling himself starting to loose his hold on consciousness. 'They were right. It will kill me' he thought as his vision began to darken. Then he was flying again, hitting the bookshelf on the opposite with force. He hit the floor second, more waves of pain shooting through his shoulder. He started coughing, his body racked with pain. He wanted to close his eyes and sleep. He fought the almost overwhelming desire.
"Kat run!" He shouted, forcing himself to his feet. Philip had risen and was holding the child tightly.
Their images wavered. 'Oh shit.' Nick thought, bracing his body. There was no impact, only darkness as he crumpled to the floor.
"ITS GONE!" Kat yelled, struggling to free herself from Philip's arms.
"What happened?" He asked, still a little worried at letting the girl go.
"It disappeared right as it got to Nick." She said, tears still running down her face.
Philip released her and went around the table to kneel next to his fallen friend. Kat followed suit. Philip was relieved to find that Nick had a pulse and was breathing, but he couldn't wake him.
"It's gonna kill everyone!" Kat wailed, crying hard again,
Philip had no answer for her.
He opened his eyes a sort time later, and found himself laying flat on the floor. He smiled. It felt good to have human sensations again. Pain, which there was a lot of in this body, was one he could deal without. But the feeling of the cold floor beneath him was almost intoxicating. It had been a long time before he felt anything.
"Nick!?" The priest asked.
He smiled, and sat up. Dizziness followed. He pushed it out of his consciousness, into the other's. Let him suffer. The priest was looking at him, concern in his eyes. The child was next to him, hope in her eyes.
"Are you okay?" She asked.
He smiled again and nodded. "Just a little bump on the head." He said for an answer and stood. The two exchanged worried looks.
"I'm fine." He insisted as they stood.
"You scared us." The priest said.
He smiled again -smiling felt good. Without warning he punched the priest, knocking him to the floor, he hit boneless, already unconscious. He turned to the girl that was staring at him wide-eyed.
"Hello Kitty Kat." He said.
He could almost see the connections being made in the child's eyes. "Leave Nick alone!" The girl said, backing up.
"Why would I do that?" He asked, smiling still.
He reached for the little girl. She ducked under his arm and started to run away. He took half a step and grabbed the back of her neck. Effortlessly, the body was well muscled despite it's injuries, he swung the girl into the bookshelves. She slid down them, dazed.
Smiling again, he pulled the child up, holding her over his shoulder. He never thought to tie up the priest as he exited the room.
Everything was set. The others were still out looking for where he put the woman. He had left them a trail, it would take them hours to find the end and get her. Despite his desires, he didn't hurt the girl's mother -too badly. There had been too much to prepare, too much to plan.
Now, the little girl lay on the makeshift alter in the basement of the house. She was staring up at him with disbelieving eyes. She was crying silently. He enjoyed that look in her eyes -disbelief that this was it, that she was going to die, and that no one was going to help her.
With another self-satisfied smile, he started out on his work. The ceremony was long, longer then he'd have liked. He never once thought of the priest.
Father Philip Callahan's first waking thought was why in hell did his head hurt so badly. It took a minute for the fogginess in his mind to clear enough for him to remember what had happened. By the time he had fully realized everything, he was already on his feet and running towards the door.
"Nick...I know you're in there!" The little girl said calmly as he started. He ignored her. Let her talk, her open trust in the ones around her made her even more innocent.
"NICK! STOP HIM!" The girl pleaded.
For a second, he felt himself being pushed away.
Nick Boyle blinked rapidly, looking down at Kat tied to the alter. His eyes went wide.
"Kat...?" He asked.
She opened her mouth to speak, but there was darkness once again. He tried to fight it again, but lost.
He looked down at the wide eyed girl in shock. That was the first time that had happened. He had possessed a child's guardian once before, and not only had he succeeded, but said guardian spent the rest of their pathetic little life in an asylum. But this one was resisting more then the other had.
He was reconsidering his choice of vessel when something hard and heavy cracked into the back of his skull. He fell forwards, unable to stop the darkness that enveloped his consciousness.
"PHILIP!" The little girl cried, more tears leaking from her eyes. Nick lay half on the ground, half on her.
Philip placed the four by four back on the ground, his own eyes pained. Carefully, he pulled Nick off of the frightened little girl and laid him on the floor. He untied Kat in silence, still a little shocked by the actions he had been forced to take against his friend.
"Are you all right, Kat?" He asked, rocking back, allowing the child to sit up.
"Can you get it out of him Philip?" She asked.
"I'll try." He looked at the unconscious form. Silently, he took the ropes that had tied Kat down and bound Nick's arms and feet. With a bit of an effort, he lifted him.
"Let's get upstairs and wait for the others to return." He said to Kat over his shoulder.
He wasn't sure if waiting was a good idea, but he couldn't do it on his own if he tried.
"HELLO!" Derek called walking into the house. Alex and Rachel entered behind him, Rachel on slightly wobbly legs.
"In here." It was Philip's voice, and Derek could tell immediately that it was strained. Breaking into a run, he reached the parlor, stopping in the doorway, taking in the scene before him.
Nick was laying on one of the couches, unconscious. With some surprise, Derek realized the young man's hands and feet had been bound behind him. Philip sat in the arm chair closest to the couch, his eyes never leaving Nick. Kat sat in another chair, her eyes locked on Derek.
"What the hell happened!?" Derek asked and Alex and Rachel entered the room.
"Our demon paid a visit." Philip said, looking at Derek for the first time. "It possessed Nick."
"My Gott. Is everyone all right?"
"Couple bruises, but we've got a bigger problem -it's still in Nick."
"Are you sure?" Rachel asked.
Philip nodded, his eyes coming back to rest on the unconscious form.
"Let's get to work then." Derek said, knowing what needed to be done.
His anger soared as he opened his eyes. He had been interrupted. He realized his problem had become somewhat greater when he registered the bounds on his shell's arms and legs, holding him down. The face of the priest came into view, now wearing the right robes.
"You won't be able to stop me." He said, his voice strong.
"I doubt that." The priest said confidently.
The ceremony began. Anger greater then he had felt in his being flowed through him. Objects flew as his body writhed. Against his struggles he could feel the struggles of the guardian. He howled, knowing that he couldn't stop his own demise.
That horrible, inhuman sounding wail. It chilled Philip to the bone, but also encouraged him at the same time. It was almost gone. It had recognized it's own mortality. Nick's body convulsed one last time against the straps holding him down, hanging half raised for a second before falling back to the table.
For a brief second, it was Nick's soft eyes looking at them, completely confused. Then they slipped shut.
Silence. Philip took a look around the now destroyed library, his mind absently trying to figure out how many times they had restacked the shelves. Four pairs of eyes looked at him questioningly. He looked at the now peaceful looking face, seeing no hint of the look that had inhabited his friend's face only minutes ago.
"Is it gone?" Derek asked, his eyes also locked on Nick.
"I can't be sure until I speak with him, but I think so." Philip offered as an answer.
The others seemed pleased with that, or at least satisfied.
A lot of noise around him, a lot of people. He couldn't get what they were saying at first, didn't know where he was. Mind to tired and strained to make the connections. Finally he registered the voices around him. Opening his eyes was harder. He was relieved to find that he was in his own bed and not in the hospital.
"He's awake!" He heard Kat's excited and relieved voice.
He opened his mouth to ask where he was when Rachel's face floated into view. "How ya felling?"
"What happened?" He asked. He didn't how weak and raw his voice sounded.
Silence for a long time. "You were possessed." Derek said at last.
He sat up, against Rachel's protests. "Is everyone all right?"
Nods from everyone. He tried to ignore Philip's black eye, and the bruises on the side of Kat's face. He knew that they weren't there the last time he remembered clearly.
Philip cleared his throat, and moved closer to the bed. "I have to check and make sure it's gone." He offered as an explanation.
The others took a hint and left, Rachel practically dragging Kat out of the room. Nick looked at Philip, but didn't say anything. The priest did the blessing quietly, relief in his eyes when it was over.
"I'll let you rest now." He said and left the room.
Though he didn't think it was possible, he fell back to sleep.
Terrified eyes staring at him, unbelieving. Pleading with him to fight it. He couldn't...
Nick woke with a jerk, and looked at the clock. Nine in the morning. Given the night they had, everyone else would be asleep. He had to know what he had done, the other's wouldn't tell him everything, no matter how much he would ask. He had immediately noticed Philip's black and, and even worse, the bruises on the side of Kat's face. A sick feeling came over him as he went into the control room.
Three hours later, he was sitting numbly in the garden, sick to his stomach from what he had seen on the tapes. He didn't even notice Philip walk over until the Priest gently laid his hand on his shoulder.
Nick jerked at the touch, coming back to the present quickly. He blinked, but said nothing as Philip sat next to him on the small bench. For a while, no one spoke, Philip finally braking the silence.
"You watched the tapes." He said, slight annoyance in his voice.
Nick looked at him briefly then back at the ground.
"You weren't you." Philip reasoned, then added. "She doesn't blame you."
"I know that."
"Then why do you blame yourself?"
"I hurt you...and Kat." The idea of hurting a child made him sick.
Philip sighed, a little annoyed at his friends guilt, but understanding at the same time. "I knocked you out, buried Alex and Rachel alive and almost shot Derek...Nick, working with the Legacy, you have to realize that sometimes even you can't control your actions."
Nick didn't look up. "But I still...When Kat has nightmares about this, she's not gonna see that thing, she's gonna see my face."
Philip blinked, not expecting that. "Kat's a tough little girl, Nick."
He was met with silence. Sighing, the priest leaned back on the bench. He had the feeling that he had helped the ex-SEAL, if only minutely. Things would be back to normal eventually...It always seemed to go like that with this Legacy House.
Please send all feedback to: jadecow14@aol.com Thanks for reading...please let me know what you think, b/c this was my first P:TL fanfic...
"It's open." He answered, sitting up and switching on the lights. "What's up?" He asked as soon as Rachel had the door open.
Rachel smiled when she heard the touch of hope in his voice. No action in almost two weeks was enough to annoy her, she could barely imagine how annoyed her ex-SEAL coworker was getting.
"Nothing serious. One of my patients at the hospital had another breakdown, and I just want to go over there and make sure everything's all right. Could you just keep an ear open for Kat? She's a sleep already."
Nick nodded, smiling. "You'll be home later?"
"I should be. I'll give you a call in the morning if I'm not here."
With one last smile and a thank you, Rachel left the room. Nick had been glad when she had deiced to spend the weekend over at the house, everyone else had been gone. Alex had been visiting one of her college friends in Oregon, and Derek had been guest lecturing at a college. The house had been very empty for the first part of the week, nearly driving him insane with boredom.
Nick laid back down, shutting the light off. He quickly drifted back to sleep. It was almost two hours later when Kat's scream woke him up.
He was sitting up and pulling off the covers before his eyes were nearly focused. He debated grabbing his gun, then deiced against it. In all likely hood, it was just a bad dream. Running in to her room with a gun drawn would be no way to comfort a scared child. He quickly ran from the room, not caring that he was half dressed or barefoot.
"Kat?" He called, halfway down the hall, seeing with some worry that the door to the girl's room was ajar.
"Nick!?" Frightened and half awake.
He relaxed slightly, just a nightmare. Kat appeared in the door way, her eyes going wide as she looked at him. That was all the warning he got, before he was suddenly flying forwards, his flight only stopped by the wall at the other end of the hall.
He fought to stay conscious, knowing that whatever had thrown him wasn't gone. He was about to fight his way to his feet when he heard Kat scream again. That was all he needed to get to his feet.
"Nick!" Kat yelled again, close this time.
His vision cleared enough to she her trying to pull away from nothing. He blinked, realized that whatever had her was pulling her along the hallway. And from the look in her eyes, she could see it.
He charged after her, scared by the amount of fear in her eyes. He was about two feet away when Kat was spun around, facing him. The little girl gave him a two-second warning before something hit him, smashing into his side and knocking him down. Kat screamed again, this time his name. Fighting to breathe, Nick got to his knees just as Kat and her invisible kidnapper reached the head of the stairs.
A steady stream of curses left his mouth as he get to his legs and followed for the second time, hoping Kat wound give him a warning again if the creature took another swing at him.
He reached the bottom of the stairs just as Kat reached the door, and was gone outside into the storm that seemed to have picked up in the past few hours. Nick ran faster, afraid to lose the little girl in the dark.
He hardly registered the headlights as he ran across the driveway, narrowly missing getting struck by Derek's car. Nor did he register Derek's calls after him. He just kept running after Kat, not knowing who or what had her.
Praying he didn't really hurt Kat, he leapt at her, successfully tackling her. For a second he could feel the resistance of the invisible creature, then Kat was completely trapped under his body.
"What's it doin'?" He asked her breathlessly.
"It disappeared!" The little girl said.
He sat up, wincing, for the first time noticing the sharp pains in his side. "You all right, Kitty Kat?" He asked as soon as she sat up.
"What was that?"
He just shook his head, gasping to hard to answer. He noticed Derek was standing less the two feet away, a very confused, very concerned look on his face.
"What are you doin' here?" Nick asked, finally hauling himself to his feet, wrapping one arm protectively around his side.
"I had a vision. I tried to call but the phones have been knocked out. What happened?"
Nick looked up at the sky which was still pelting down rain at them. All three of them were already drenched. "Let's go inside first." He said, picked Kat up, making sure to hold her on his uninjured side.
By the time all there were dressed in dry clothing, and seated near the fire place it was almost five in the morning. Outside the Legacy house, the rain continued to pound down on the bay, making travel to the island impossible. It made Nick wonder what Derek had been thinking taking a boat over.
Derek, for the most part, was remembering his vision on his young, headstrong coworker flying down the hallway. He didn't need to ask where the bruise just over the ex-SEAL's left eye came from, but he did anyway, wanting to get a complete understanding of what had happened.
"I don't fly too well, Derek." Nick mumbled in response. "Every time I attempt it I wind up flying into something."
"You were thrown." Kat said from her position just next to him on the couch.
"Got some good air though, didn't I?" He asked, smirking down at his serious looking friend. He was trying to calm her down, he could feel how tense she was, and that look of complete fear still lingered in her eyes.
"What threw you?" Derek asked, glad that he was getting sarcastic comments out of Nick. At least that meant that he was more or less himself, and that his head injury wasn't too bad.
"Didn't see it."
"At all?"
"No. Kat could."
Derek looked at Kat, smiling gently. "What did it look like, Kat?"
"A monster."
"What kind of monster?" Derek probed, needing something to go on.
"Big."
He decided not to push the little girl any further and instead looked back up at Nick. "What about you? You didn't see it at all?"
"No."
Derek sighed, leaning back in his chair. A 'monster' for lack of a better word, who adults couldn't see. That was a lot to go on.
For a while there was silence, which was interrupted by Kat's yawn. Nick looked down at her, realizing how tiring the last few hours must have been for her. Hell, he was wiped out and this sort of things were normal to him.
"Come on, I'll take you back up to bed." Something flashed across her eyes, fear. "I'll stay with you, don't worry."
Nick didn't wait for Derek to say anything, just lead her out of the room.
When Rachel came into her daughter's bedroom nearly five hours later a she found the two asleep, Kat under the covers, Nick laying on top of them, one arm slung protectively over her. Derek had told her everything that happened -what little information he could get out of the two anyway. She just needed to see that her daughter was safe.
Rachel was about to back out of the room when Nick stirred, going from sleep to fully awake in just a few seconds. He was immediately sitting up and facing the door. He relaxed as soon as he saw it was Rachel. Wincing, he hoped he wouldn't have to move that fast again in the near future.
"Derek said he thought you hurt yourself, but you wouldn't let him look at you." Rachel said in a whisper, not wanting to wake her sleeping daughter.
Nick shrugged. "I think it's just bruises, I'm all right."
Rachel raised her eye brows. "I'm the doctor, let me be the judge of that."
Knowing his was beat, Nick lifted up the left side of his shirt, showing Rachel the dark bruise that had already started to form.
"Looks a lot worse then it hurts." He said, knowing it was futile. He could tell right away from the look in Rachel's eyes were he was going.
Rachel was about to confirm what she could tell her friend already understood, when Kat woke up. At seeing her mother in the room, Kat smiled, and reached for her, hugging her tight.
"There was a monster, Mommy!" Kat explained into her mother's shoulder. "An' it tried to take me, and it hurt Nick, and it was really ugly, but Derek and Nick couldn't see it and..." The little girl ran out of words, but kept her death grip on her mother's shoulder.
"It's okay Kat. We're going to find out what it was." Rachel assured, returning her daughter's fierce hug.
Nick stood and left the room, knowing that Kat would be well protected by her mother, should anything else come up. He headed towards his room, wanting nothing more then a shower and some clean clothes before he would go and see what Derek had come up with.
Feeling clean, and more awake, Nick was halfway towards the library when Rachel stopped him. Kat was still with her. He was unsure of who wasn't letting go of who though.
"Where are you going?" Rachel asked him.
He had a good idea it wasn't where he planed. "Library."
"Derek wants me to make sure you're not hurt before you do anything else."
"He needs help researching, trying to figure out what the hell that thing last night was." Nick tried, he really hated hospitals.
"Alex is in there with him."
"When did she come in?" He asked, surprised he didn't hear her come in. Normally, even the slightest sounds woke him.
"About two hours before I did. Derek didn't even let her go to her room, just ushered her into the library." Rachel paused, then went on. "Go get your jacket."
Knowing he was beaten, and honestly not feeling like putting up a fight, Nick did as told. When he came back out into the hall, he was surprised to see that Kat was accompanying them on their little trip.
Rachel should've known it all wouldn't have gone easy. She managed to get Nick to the hospital and examined. Now, on the ferry back to the Island, she finally ran into trouble.
"I'm not taking them, Rachel." Nick protested, eyeing the small bottle of pills as if it was poison.
"Why not?" She questioned, eyes not on Nick but on Kat who was standing a few feet away, watching for the mansion to come into view.
"Two reasons, one, I'm not hurt that bad, two cracked ribs isn't so horrible, Rachel. Two, they screw up my head." He dropped the volume of his voice lower, not wanting the other passengers on the ferry to hear. "We don't know if that thing's gonna come back or not."
"What help are you if you can hardly breath?"
"I can't breath fully because I've got a mile of bandages around me!" he shot back, annoyed now. He was supposed to protect the Legacy members. It was his job, and he sure as hell wasn't taking anything that would make him drowsy if that creature could come back again.
Rachel didn't say anything, but her disapproval showed in her eyes.
"Sorry to interrupt, but dinner's almost ready." Dominick said, poking his head into the library where most of the house's occupants were in the room.
The three adults and one child all nodded their heads, Derek mumbling a thank you.
"I'll go get Nick!" Kat offered, glad to get out of the library. Her mother wasn't letting her alone for a minute, which was starting to get annoying. She glanced at her Mom, saw her nod and left the room.
Nick and Rachel had reached a compromise, she wouldn't make him take the pain killers if he laid down in his room. He told her he doubted he was going to sleep, but did as she asked. He did fall asleep, which was why when Kat screamed after opening the door to his room, he was so surprised.
He sat up immediately and turned to face the terrified girl, body protesting against the swift movements. Her eyes weren't locked on him, but rather a spot in the corner of the room.
"What?" He asked, already standing.
"It's in your room!" She said, eyes wide.
That was enough motivation to get him moving. He ran out the door, Kat inches in front of him. They where halfway to the stairs when Nick felt himself being lifted, and then thrown. He went over the wooden railing, Kat screaming his name as he fell.
He hit the ground hard on his left shoulder, his head smacking into the wood flooring next. With a groan, he pulled himself to his feet, right hand wrapped around to support his shoulder. Rachel was already at the foot of the stairs, running towards her frightened daughter, Derek and Alex were coming at him.
There images wavered for a second, and Kat yelled that it was downstairs. Nick froze, tried to see that blur again. Something struck him in the chest, knocking him on his back, sending another wave of pain through his shoulder. Again, he fought to get to his feet. Derek and Alex were close now, less then two feet away, suddenly, they were on the ground too.
Nick tensed up, waiting, knowing that there was going to be more of an attack. Derek and Alex pulled themselves up, and came towards him again. They stood on either side of him,
"KAT!" He yelled, sides protesting greatly. "What's it doin'?"
"It's looking at you."
"We won't let you take her." He said to an enemy that he couldn't see.
He could hear Rachel's and Kat's decent of the stairs, but kept his eyes locked on the space in front of him. He could feel Derek and Alex were doing the same. It stayed like that from a long time, then finally Kat spoke.
"It disappeared." She said, relief in her voice.
Nick looked at his coworkers, saw that the relief was not mirrored in their own faces. It wasn't over.
"That was twice in less then twenty-four hours." Nick said, his left arm in a sling.
Rachel was again telling him he should take the pain medicine, and again he didn't want to. The idea of relief from the pain in his sides and arm (not mentioning the killer headache he now had) was enough to make him want to take it. But that thing had been in his room! In all likely hood, the 'monster' (for lack of a better word) was extremely annoyed with him. If he had taken the pills like Rachel wanted, he probably wouldn't have reacted as fast to Kat's screams, and then what would've happened?
At the moment, the three of them, Kat again accompanied them to the hospital, were waiting for the ferry in the blazer.
"Why don't you stay here, Rachel?" Nick asked as he saw the ferry start over from the other side.
"Because there's so much to do back at the house. Derek and Alex could use the help researching."
"But you dunno if that thing's just on the island. It could be safer to stay over here."
"I think it's more afraid of a lot of people then anything else. Plus the house is safer."
"It seems to get past security pretty easily."
"But more people will come running if Kat sees it again."
Nick gave up, not understanding why Rachel was so set against staying at her apartment. He leaned back in the seat and closed his eyes. He was exhausted, and fighting whit Rachel wasn't helping.
He started to drift off just before the ferry docked.
"I've found it!" Alex said triumphantly, glancing around the room at her coworkers.
Derek looked up from the book he had been searching, and rose from his seat to stand behind Alex. The room's other two occupants didn't move. Kat was coloring on the floor, an attempt to draw what she had seen. Nick was sitting a few feet away from he table, eyes out the window. He had given up almost an hour before, all the reading of small print was making his headache worse. The same patient that was having trouble before was again having problems -Rachel was forced to leave and go back to the hospital.
"What is it?" Nick asked from his position. The idea of moving sounded like too much.
"A demon, feeds on the innocence of children. One child every seven years."
Nick swallowed his mouth suddenly dry. "How do you stop it?" He was already stiffly moving to his feet.
"Apparently, if it goes after the child it chooses, and is stopped it has six more nights to get the child away from her home. It systematically goes after whoever stopped it, trying to get the child. It can only come once a night. If it doesn't get the child in the time period, it can't return for twenty-one years."
"My Got." Derek said.
"So we've got another five nights with this thing?" Nick asked, worried.
"Yes. And it's probably very mad at you, Nick." Alex answered.
Nick was about to say something, when all three were startled by a sound behind them. They all spun, coming face to face with a very distraught Katherine Corrigan. The little girl's colored pencils lay all over the floor, the sound was of the girl dropping them. She looked at the three with painfilled eyes then abruptly turned and ran from the room.
Nick looked back at Derek and Alex who were both starting after the upset child. "I'll go," He said, and left the room slower then Kat had, for the obvious reasons.
'Oh please tell me she didn't go up the stairs.' Nick thought coming out of the library. The thought of running up and down all those stairs was enough to make him feel even more tired.
"Kat!?" He called, coming into the parlor. He glanced at the couch, not surprised to see something move it the shadows underneath it.
He went there, carefully bending to look under, not surprised to find Kat laying there on her stomach, head on her folded arms. She was crying. Nick felt his own heart twist a little at seeing the little girl cry.
"I don't think the two of us can fit under there." He said, smiling gently at Kat.
"Go away!"
"Why? Don't like me all of a sudden?"
"It's gonna hurt you because of me!" Kat yelled, tears coming harder now.
"Oh Kitty Kat," He said, actually feeling tears well up in his own eyes. "None of this is your fault."
"Yes it is! It wants me, and you tried to stop it and you got hurt, and it's gonna hurt you worse!"
"Can you come out, please?"
"No!"
"Well then I'm staying here too."
"NO!" She screamed louder.
"What do you want me to do? Leave so it can hurt you?"
"Yes!"
"Kat, I wouldn't do that as long as I can breath. I've been knocked around before, I'll be fine."
"But it's gonna come again! For another five times!"
He wasn't too good at this, was he? "Kitty Kat, do you think your Mom's gonna let it hurt you?"
"No."
"Well, I'm not gonna either."
"But it's mad at you!"
"It will be mad at your Mom too. Are you gonna make her run away too?"
"It'll kill you, Nick!"
"Derek and Alex, and your Mom won't let that happen."
"How can you stop it if you can't see it?"
"That's why we need your help Kat. You can see it. We need you to warn us when it's here."
Silence.
"Wanna come out of there now?" He asked gently.
"Okay."
He smiled again as the little girl pulled herself out from under the couch. Her face was tear streaked, but she wasn't crying any longer. The two sat on the couch in silence for a few moments before Kat spoke.
"Do you really think that you guys can stop it?" She asked, not looking at Nick.
"We're gonna try as hard as we can, Kitty Kat." He answered, wondering if their best was good enough.
It was one in the afternoon when the unexpected, but always welcome, guest knocked on the door. He was surprised when only Dominick answered the door. Normally at least one member of the Legacy team came to greet him.
"Where is everyone?" Philip asked, coming into the house.
"Asleep."
"At one?"
"Apparently it was an interesting night." Dominick answered.
"Is everyone all right?" Philip asked, concerned. His eyes finding the broken spot in the railing.
"Mr. Boyle was taken to the emergency room, but he assures me he's fine. He was awake a few hours ago when I came in the library. As far as I know, he's still in there."
Philip nodded, heading straight for the library, wanting some kind of answers. He found Nick a sleep at the table. Philip looked at a few of the books strewn about the table, confused as to what could've been the problem. He finally came to rest at a picture that was drawn in colored pencils. It gave him the chills to look at it.
"Philip!" Nick said, sitting up, wincing as he tried to get tight muscles to loosen up. "What are you doing here?"
"I was in town and thought I'd see how things were. Not so good from what I see."
Nick pointed at the picture, not standing up. "That thing's after Kat. It only comes at night..and none of us can see it."
"God." Philip whispered, eyes still on the picture. "What happened to you?"
"It threw me over the railing." He offered in explanation.
"Are you all right?"
"I dislocated my shoulder and broke my collar bone." He offered, knowing Philip wouldn't settle for the typical 'I'm fine'. "It's gonna come back tonight, Philip."
"Can we stop it?"
Nick was never surprised how quickly Philip added himself it. "We have to keep it from getting Kat and it'll go away from twenty-one years."
"Do you think it's possible."
He wanted to say yes. He truly did, but he couldn't. He just gave a lopsided shrug before sitting back down at the table.
"Philip!" Kat yelled, coming into the library where the two men had set up camp. It was almost four in the afternoon.
He smiled and enveloped the little girl in a hug. She held him tightly. She finally pulled away and looked at Nick who had once again fallen asleep at the table, his head resting on his uninjured arm.
"Mommy told me to make sure he went to bed." She said, a hint of annoyance in her voice.
Philip could only image what Rachel had to go to get Nick to even go to the hospital, let alone trying to get him to rest and not help.
"When did you all go to bed?" The priest asked.
"Around eight."
"In the morning!"
The little girl nodded. "I fell asleep. They woke me up trying to carry me upstairs."
"Where's your Mom?"
She shrugged. "I guess she's still at the hospital -one of her patients tried to kill himself again."
As if to drive the point home, the phone rang. Philip answered it without thinking, hoping that it didn't wake Nick, from what he gathered, the young man had little sleep the past few nights.
"Hello?" He said into the phone.
"PHILIP!?" Rachel asked, surprise in her voice. "Why are you there?"
"I was in two and thought I'd come by. Not a week for visitin' is it?"
"No, it's not. Is Kat awake? I called earlier, but only Nick was up. He's a sleep now, right?"
Philip smiled despite the situation. "Yes, he is. And Kat's right here."
He handed the phone off to the little girl who took it eagerly. "Mommy?" She asked.
"I'm right here honey. I'll be home a little later. I'm so sorry I had to leave last night."
"It's okay. That man needed help. Nothing else happened."
"Good. I'll try to be back by dark, okay?"
"Okay."
"I love you Kitty Kat."
"I love you too." She said, the put the phone back down in it's cradle.
Derek had a fun time of chewing out the chief security officer -once the man in question woke up. Philip, Alex, and Kat stood there silently as Derek explained quiet tiredly to Nick that he should've went upstairs to sleep, not pass out at the table.
"I couldn't sleep." Nick said, truthfully.
"When you pass out from exhaustion, you're not going to be of much help."
"I'm fine." Nick insisted. The argument was making his head hurt worse. His sides were completely stiff from sleeping they way he had, but he wasn't tired when he was in his room.
Doubt shown in Derek's eyes. "You are far from fine."
Nick sighed and leaned back in the chair. He was tired of being told he needed to rest. His body would tell him if he did. Last night, he had wanted to sleep, but when did in his room, he had a nightmare again, one he couldn't remember. He had deiced to do another security check, and wound up in the library, looking over some of the information they had uncovered.
Seeing the doors close up in Nick's eyes, Derek gave up, knowing that he wasn't going to listen any longer. That was when Dominic chose to come in.
"I've prepared a meal." The man smiled. "I'm not sure what meal it's supposed to be considered, but it's ready."
Nick grinned, glad that man had finally developed a sense of humor. He stood, realizing he hadn't really eaten in a while.
All four made their way into the dining room, all aware that the sun had just set outside.
It was ten o'clock when Kat was really starting to get nervous. Her mother hadn't came home or called. She could tell by the looks on everyone else's faces that they were just as worried. Nick and Alex were in the control room, going over all the cameras, hoping that Rachel was on the island.
"Derek, can you come here?" Alex called, her voice was controlled. Kat, ignoring Philip's protests went into the room with Derek.
"MOMMY!" She screamed after watching the video replay. The monster had attacked her mother and pulled her out of the camera's view.
"We'll find her Kat." Nick assured, moving to kneel next to the now crying child. He pulled her into a hug, eyes raised and questioning Derek.
"Come on, Alex. We'll go down to the dock. You and Philip stay here."
Nick nodded, still doing his best to comfort the distraught child.
The two left silently. Once they were gone, Nick stood, awkwardly picking Kat up and taking her with him. He found Philip in the library, sitting at the table, his eyes showing his concern and confusion. Kat was still crying, he could feel her body shuddering with every sob.
"It'll be okay, Kitty Kat." He said sitting her on the edge of the long table.
"It'll hurt her!" The little girl sobbed.
"Derek and Alex are going to find her and help her. Don't worry."
He looked at Philip for help. The priest started over, his image wavering for a second. Nick had no time to warn the priest before he went flying backwards, hitting into one of the many book shelves.
Kat screamed. Nick instinctively stood in front of the little girl, eyes scanning for that small disturbance. On the floor, Philip was groaning and pulling himself to his feet. Nick looked that way, concern in his eyes, terrified that the demon would go try to hurt the priest more.
"Nick look out!" Kat said in his ear. The little girl was kneeling on the table, searching the room. Nick didn't move, afraid that he'd give the demon a clear path to the terrified girl.
Something grabbed him by his neck, and lifted him, pulling him off the ground. Nick struggled with the unseen monster, feeling himself starting to loose his hold on consciousness. 'They were right. It will kill me' he thought as his vision began to darken. Then he was flying again, hitting the bookshelf on the opposite with force. He hit the floor second, more waves of pain shooting through his shoulder. He started coughing, his body racked with pain. He wanted to close his eyes and sleep. He fought the almost overwhelming desire.
"Kat run!" He shouted, forcing himself to his feet. Philip had risen and was holding the child tightly.
Their images wavered. 'Oh shit.' Nick thought, bracing his body. There was no impact, only darkness as he crumpled to the floor.
"ITS GONE!" Kat yelled, struggling to free herself from Philip's arms.
"What happened?" He asked, still a little worried at letting the girl go.
"It disappeared right as it got to Nick." She said, tears still running down her face.
Philip released her and went around the table to kneel next to his fallen friend. Kat followed suit. Philip was relieved to find that Nick had a pulse and was breathing, but he couldn't wake him.
"It's gonna kill everyone!" Kat wailed, crying hard again,
Philip had no answer for her.
He opened his eyes a sort time later, and found himself laying flat on the floor. He smiled. It felt good to have human sensations again. Pain, which there was a lot of in this body, was one he could deal without. But the feeling of the cold floor beneath him was almost intoxicating. It had been a long time before he felt anything.
"Nick!?" The priest asked.
He smiled, and sat up. Dizziness followed. He pushed it out of his consciousness, into the other's. Let him suffer. The priest was looking at him, concern in his eyes. The child was next to him, hope in her eyes.
"Are you okay?" She asked.
He smiled again and nodded. "Just a little bump on the head." He said for an answer and stood. The two exchanged worried looks.
"I'm fine." He insisted as they stood.
"You scared us." The priest said.
He smiled again -smiling felt good. Without warning he punched the priest, knocking him to the floor, he hit boneless, already unconscious. He turned to the girl that was staring at him wide-eyed.
"Hello Kitty Kat." He said.
He could almost see the connections being made in the child's eyes. "Leave Nick alone!" The girl said, backing up.
"Why would I do that?" He asked, smiling still.
He reached for the little girl. She ducked under his arm and started to run away. He took half a step and grabbed the back of her neck. Effortlessly, the body was well muscled despite it's injuries, he swung the girl into the bookshelves. She slid down them, dazed.
Smiling again, he pulled the child up, holding her over his shoulder. He never thought to tie up the priest as he exited the room.
Everything was set. The others were still out looking for where he put the woman. He had left them a trail, it would take them hours to find the end and get her. Despite his desires, he didn't hurt the girl's mother -too badly. There had been too much to prepare, too much to plan.
Now, the little girl lay on the makeshift alter in the basement of the house. She was staring up at him with disbelieving eyes. She was crying silently. He enjoyed that look in her eyes -disbelief that this was it, that she was going to die, and that no one was going to help her.
With another self-satisfied smile, he started out on his work. The ceremony was long, longer then he'd have liked. He never once thought of the priest.
Father Philip Callahan's first waking thought was why in hell did his head hurt so badly. It took a minute for the fogginess in his mind to clear enough for him to remember what had happened. By the time he had fully realized everything, he was already on his feet and running towards the door.
"Nick...I know you're in there!" The little girl said calmly as he started. He ignored her. Let her talk, her open trust in the ones around her made her even more innocent.
"NICK! STOP HIM!" The girl pleaded.
For a second, he felt himself being pushed away.
Nick Boyle blinked rapidly, looking down at Kat tied to the alter. His eyes went wide.
"Kat...?" He asked.
She opened her mouth to speak, but there was darkness once again. He tried to fight it again, but lost.
He looked down at the wide eyed girl in shock. That was the first time that had happened. He had possessed a child's guardian once before, and not only had he succeeded, but said guardian spent the rest of their pathetic little life in an asylum. But this one was resisting more then the other had.
He was reconsidering his choice of vessel when something hard and heavy cracked into the back of his skull. He fell forwards, unable to stop the darkness that enveloped his consciousness.
"PHILIP!" The little girl cried, more tears leaking from her eyes. Nick lay half on the ground, half on her.
Philip placed the four by four back on the ground, his own eyes pained. Carefully, he pulled Nick off of the frightened little girl and laid him on the floor. He untied Kat in silence, still a little shocked by the actions he had been forced to take against his friend.
"Are you all right, Kat?" He asked, rocking back, allowing the child to sit up.
"Can you get it out of him Philip?" She asked.
"I'll try." He looked at the unconscious form. Silently, he took the ropes that had tied Kat down and bound Nick's arms and feet. With a bit of an effort, he lifted him.
"Let's get upstairs and wait for the others to return." He said to Kat over his shoulder.
He wasn't sure if waiting was a good idea, but he couldn't do it on his own if he tried.
"HELLO!" Derek called walking into the house. Alex and Rachel entered behind him, Rachel on slightly wobbly legs.
"In here." It was Philip's voice, and Derek could tell immediately that it was strained. Breaking into a run, he reached the parlor, stopping in the doorway, taking in the scene before him.
Nick was laying on one of the couches, unconscious. With some surprise, Derek realized the young man's hands and feet had been bound behind him. Philip sat in the arm chair closest to the couch, his eyes never leaving Nick. Kat sat in another chair, her eyes locked on Derek.
"What the hell happened!?" Derek asked and Alex and Rachel entered the room.
"Our demon paid a visit." Philip said, looking at Derek for the first time. "It possessed Nick."
"My Gott. Is everyone all right?"
"Couple bruises, but we've got a bigger problem -it's still in Nick."
"Are you sure?" Rachel asked.
Philip nodded, his eyes coming back to rest on the unconscious form.
"Let's get to work then." Derek said, knowing what needed to be done.
His anger soared as he opened his eyes. He had been interrupted. He realized his problem had become somewhat greater when he registered the bounds on his shell's arms and legs, holding him down. The face of the priest came into view, now wearing the right robes.
"You won't be able to stop me." He said, his voice strong.
"I doubt that." The priest said confidently.
The ceremony began. Anger greater then he had felt in his being flowed through him. Objects flew as his body writhed. Against his struggles he could feel the struggles of the guardian. He howled, knowing that he couldn't stop his own demise.
That horrible, inhuman sounding wail. It chilled Philip to the bone, but also encouraged him at the same time. It was almost gone. It had recognized it's own mortality. Nick's body convulsed one last time against the straps holding him down, hanging half raised for a second before falling back to the table.
For a brief second, it was Nick's soft eyes looking at them, completely confused. Then they slipped shut.
Silence. Philip took a look around the now destroyed library, his mind absently trying to figure out how many times they had restacked the shelves. Four pairs of eyes looked at him questioningly. He looked at the now peaceful looking face, seeing no hint of the look that had inhabited his friend's face only minutes ago.
"Is it gone?" Derek asked, his eyes also locked on Nick.
"I can't be sure until I speak with him, but I think so." Philip offered as an answer.
The others seemed pleased with that, or at least satisfied.
A lot of noise around him, a lot of people. He couldn't get what they were saying at first, didn't know where he was. Mind to tired and strained to make the connections. Finally he registered the voices around him. Opening his eyes was harder. He was relieved to find that he was in his own bed and not in the hospital.
"He's awake!" He heard Kat's excited and relieved voice.
He opened his mouth to ask where he was when Rachel's face floated into view. "How ya felling?"
"What happened?" He asked. He didn't how weak and raw his voice sounded.
Silence for a long time. "You were possessed." Derek said at last.
He sat up, against Rachel's protests. "Is everyone all right?"
Nods from everyone. He tried to ignore Philip's black eye, and the bruises on the side of Kat's face. He knew that they weren't there the last time he remembered clearly.
Philip cleared his throat, and moved closer to the bed. "I have to check and make sure it's gone." He offered as an explanation.
The others took a hint and left, Rachel practically dragging Kat out of the room. Nick looked at Philip, but didn't say anything. The priest did the blessing quietly, relief in his eyes when it was over.
"I'll let you rest now." He said and left the room.
Though he didn't think it was possible, he fell back to sleep.
Terrified eyes staring at him, unbelieving. Pleading with him to fight it. He couldn't...
Nick woke with a jerk, and looked at the clock. Nine in the morning. Given the night they had, everyone else would be asleep. He had to know what he had done, the other's wouldn't tell him everything, no matter how much he would ask. He had immediately noticed Philip's black and, and even worse, the bruises on the side of Kat's face. A sick feeling came over him as he went into the control room.
Three hours later, he was sitting numbly in the garden, sick to his stomach from what he had seen on the tapes. He didn't even notice Philip walk over until the Priest gently laid his hand on his shoulder.
Nick jerked at the touch, coming back to the present quickly. He blinked, but said nothing as Philip sat next to him on the small bench. For a while, no one spoke, Philip finally braking the silence.
"You watched the tapes." He said, slight annoyance in his voice.
Nick looked at him briefly then back at the ground.
"You weren't you." Philip reasoned, then added. "She doesn't blame you."
"I know that."
"Then why do you blame yourself?"
"I hurt you...and Kat." The idea of hurting a child made him sick.
Philip sighed, a little annoyed at his friends guilt, but understanding at the same time. "I knocked you out, buried Alex and Rachel alive and almost shot Derek...Nick, working with the Legacy, you have to realize that sometimes even you can't control your actions."
Nick didn't look up. "But I still...When Kat has nightmares about this, she's not gonna see that thing, she's gonna see my face."
Philip blinked, not expecting that. "Kat's a tough little girl, Nick."
He was met with silence. Sighing, the priest leaned back on the bench. He had the feeling that he had helped the ex-SEAL, if only minutely. Things would be back to normal eventually...It always seemed to go like that with this Legacy House.
Please send all feedback to: jadecow14@aol.com Thanks for reading...please let me know what you think, b/c this was my first P:TL fanfic...