Spoilers: Heart of Ice/Fire
Timeline: After Drawn and Quartered. (like anyone wants to write after the next one)
Summary: The title is self-explanatory. Just my ear-people Bob and LuLu having fun with the keyboard. (I finally let them out of the cage.)
Pairing: Hevinki, minor Moreeke (Don't you love making up names for pairings? I have a million.)
Betaed by longlostnite and hermyam, thank you both SO much!
I OWN NOTHING EXCEPT THE SPECIFIC ORDER OF THE WORDS IN FULL TEXT AND MY DARLING ORIGINAL CHARACTER, MICHELLE.
What The Future Holds
Prologue
"Are you sure you'll be okay?" Vicki looked at the young red-head in front of her. The girl laughed.
"For the millionth time, I'll be fine. I'll find daddy and Unkie and everything will be fine. I just hope you'll understand. You know you're hardheaded."
"Yeah, well, your Unkie will be the one that won't believe you. He doesn't like magic."
"Unkie? But he's the supernatural expert."
"I know. Send them my love."
"I will. Bye mom." With that, the girl stepped into the swirling blue portal and was gone.
"Bye bye Michelle."
Vicki looked up when there was a loud bang. In her wall was now a giant blue mass of something. Out stepped a teenage girl and the mass vanished with the same gunshot sound. "Who the hell are you?" Vicki demanded, asp extended.
"Mom!" The girl threw her arms around Vicki's neck and the blonde froze. "I'm glad you're the first one I found. When's daddy getting here? Where's Auco?" The girl released her, bouncing around the office giddily. "Wow, you never change this place, you know? Well...different couch, but...basically."
"I repeat, who the hell are you?"
"Oh, right. I'm Michelle. Your daughter. I'm from the future."
"The future? Right."
"I just popped out of a portal in the wall. Good Lord, you're skeptical. I can prove it." The girl turned and lifted the back of her shirt. On her lower back was a small, pink birthmark that looked like a fish. Vicki's hand went to her back where she had the same birthmark. Michelle looked at her and giggled.
"O-okay. You're my daughter. That was a portal to the future. Why are you here? What happened?"
"Mom...you, that is, sent me here so that I could get a spellbook that got lost."
"A spellbook? What happened to it?"
"One of Astaroth's followers broke in and stole it."
"Astaroth? He's still loose?"
"Yes. I know, it sucks. Anyways, Unkie needs it to do the spell that banishes Astaroth to hell for a thousand years."
"There's a spell to get rid of Astaroth? Why didn't you use it before?"
"It doesn't have a specific banishment spell, but Unkie is going to tweak it and see if that won't work. The spell in it is actually to banish a prince of hell, which Astaroth is. By the time Unkie had thought of it, it was already stolen. They actually never even thought of using that book until it was taken. Because why would they have taken it if it weren't a danger to them?"
"Well that figures."
"Vic?" The front door opened and Vicki turned towards it. Mike walked in, a bag of Chinese in hand. Vicki's eyes went to the window. It was dark out.
"Mike, why do you come over when you know Henry will? You two are just going to get into another fight..." She turned to Michelle, "Is this your dad?"
Henry was suddenly sitting on the lit desk, "Celluci, how endearing. I didn't know you had a kid." Michelle let out a squeal and was suddenly hugging the vampire, moving faster than Vicki and Mike could follow.
"Daddy!"
Vicki's eyes went wide and Henry went still as a statue in that purely-vampire fashion he had.
"I didn't know vampires could have kids. Look, Vic, hellspawn." Mike spat. Vicki spun, slapping him, and he staggered back a few steps. "What was that for?!"
"That is MY daughter you're talking about!"
"Your daughter? As in, ours?" Henry caught her gaze and she went red. Michelle released him and hugged Mike.
"Unkie, you look so young. Wow, it's weird." she smiled.
"Unkie?"
"I couldn't say Uncle Mike when I was a kid. My m's were a bit off. So were my r's and d's. I used to call mom and dad Oy and Ay."
"Vic, what's going on?" Mike stepped away from the girl.
"This is Michelle, she popped out of a blue thing in my wall that brought her from the future where YOU need a spell from a spellbook that got stolen by Astaroth's followers."
"I need a spell? See, she's a nutcase."
"No, she has my birthmark, she's my kid."
"Birthmark?" Henry raised an eyebrow, lips curved in a smirk.
"DADDY! Not in front of me! EW!" Michelle made a face and Vicki raised her hand to cover her smile. She turned and showed him the fish mark. He went to Vicki and lifted the back of her shirt.
"You have one second to get your hands off of me, Fitzroy." Vicki glared at him, slapping his hands away. He smiled.
"That's not what you said in the future."
"Try it again it's what I will say."
"HEY! Still need to be conceived here!" Michelle objected. She turned to Henry. "By the way, a guy getting to second base with me doesn't give you the right to kill him."
"Second WHAT?!" Henry demanded. She rolled her eyes.
Vicki interrupted, "Can we get down to the real stuff now? She came to get a spellbook because Mike needs it to banish Astaroth to hell for a thousand years."
"I don't do magic." Mike objected.
"You do in the future. You're the one that made the spell for vampires to be able to be alive during the day and the one that let dad and mom have me."
"Now I know you're crazy. I would never intentionally help Fitzroy."
"Well, they got tired of playing parents and babysitting Kyle and Crissy."
"And who are Kyle and Crissy?"
"You and Auco's kids."
"Who's Auco?"
"Aunt Coreen."
"Aunt Coreen? Mike's wife is Coreen?" Vicki's eyes went wide.
"Yeah. They got married not long after you and dad. They had the twins first."
"Married?" Henry seemed shocked, but quickly recovered, smirking.
"Oh no, Vicki Nelson does not do the marriage thing. Nu-uh." the PI denied.
"Well Vicki Fitzroy does. Because SHE wrote her own gushy vows and everything. I have it on high definition DVD and surround sound. You still cry every time you watch it and dad says his."
"Really? Interesting. Vicki Fitzroy." Henry smiled, moving around his future wife.
"Come on, we have to go get that book." Vicki started for the door.
"What book?" Henry looked at his daughter.
"The Heirarchy of Hell tome."
"I don't have that." Henry shook his head.
"Are you sure? You said Gramma Bettie gave it to you."
"Great. Um...I'll head to see her, you guys stay here." Vicki instructed. Mike laughed.
"What's wrong, Vic? Cold feet?"
"Shut up, Celluci." she shoved her hands into her jacket pockets and started to leave. Henry was by her side before she got to the street.
"Mike's going to babysit." he said. She scowled at him and he grabbed her arm, pulling her out of the way of a pole she nearly hit. "So, she tell you anything else?"
"Mike and Coreen are married with two kids, she's our daughter, Mike does magic. That's about it. Astaroth is still there." She shook her head, then punched the brick wall they were walking beside. She quickly grabbed the injured hand, swearing. "GodDAMMIT! How many years into the future and we're still fighting that FUCKING demon!" She tried to hold back the tears as Henry watched her shake her hand to ward off the pain. He grabbed it and ran his tongue over the scrapes, eyes catching hers. When she broke eye-contact, he spoke.
"We're winning. When their Celluci does the spell, Astaroth will be gone."
"But so long. We're going to be fighting him until I'm in my, what, forties, fiftes?! I'll be too old for that stuff!"
"Vicki, I doubt you'd let something like age get in the way of doing what you enjoy." he smiled. They continued to walk, her hand in his and her acting like she'd forgotten about it. He could tell she hadn't though, her heartbeat giving her away.
"Enjoy?" she looked at him incredulously.
"I've seen you. Solving these wierd cases, I know you like it. It makes you feel like you have a purpose again. I'm old, not stupid."
"It's still not fair. Why me? Why us?"
"Because we were in the wrong place at the wrong time. It's as simple as that. But if we hadn't been, he would already be here. And we never would've met." he turned to her, stopping them again, and his free hand came up to play in her loose hair. Her heart sped up and she shook her head, smiling.
"You spin everything, don't you?"
"Everything but silk." he grinned. His eyes went serious and she unconsciously licked her lips.
"If we're going to be married..." she began, forehead against his. He nodded. "...you're going to have to stop fucking the fast food." She pushed away from him and kept walking. There was a pause and he was beside her again, walking with her.
"You're big on loyalty, aren't you?"
"Gee, what gave you that clue?" Sarcasm 1, Sensitivity 0.
"The jealousy." he shot, grabbing her hand again. She spun and glared at him, ripping her hand from his.
"I'm so sorry to inconvenience you. I haven't slept with anyone since we met. I didn't sleep with Mike or Emmanuel or any of my old boyfriends. I did that because of you. So, yeah, I'm a little crabby you're still screwing anything that'll fall under your powers of persuasion."
"Then why do you always say no? Why do you turn away? Why don't you ever just let me love you?"
"Because I..." she lowered her voice, looking around. "Because I don't like to be...in control...all of the time. Happy? There's the big secret. Okay? Can we please just get the damn book?" she snapped. He was silent a moment longer, then, together, they started walking again.
Henry broke the silence. "She has your eyes and nose."
"She has your hair and special diet."
"No, just the perks, not the diet."
"Is that even possible?"
"Apparently, thanks to the powers of the good detective."
"Do you want kids? Or to be able to be awake during the day? I mean, you're so good at the whole 'nosferatu' thing." she used air quotes and he smiled.
"I miss the sun, its warmth, spending lazy afternoons just walking. And I do want kids. Many, many kids. One for every year of my life." He felt his smile soften on its own.
"Funny. Let's start with the one and see if you get a second. I'm not having five hundred kids."
"I suppose. So, if you had to write your vows tonight, what would they be?"
"Heny, do we have to talk about this?" she looked at him. He smiled again. "Ugh, fine. Through the teeth, over the gums, look out, stomach, here it comes."
They both began laughing and she looked at him expectantly. "Me? No, those are secret." he shook his head.
"That's not fair."
"Vicki, you weren't being serious."
"So? I don't do well with feelings. You, on the other hand, are Mr. Passion and Emotion."
"Victoria, I have been married once, and it was a loveless, arranged marriage. You are the woman I will marry for love, the one that will bear my children. This is to be a sacred thing." he looked at her. She felt herself blushing and blinked quickly.
"Wow, yours beat mine."
"That was not even a shadow of my vows. Come on. We need to get to the college before Bettie leaves."
"Then stop talking." she smiled. They finished the walk in relative silence and went up to Bettie Sagara's office. He knocked, twice quick, three slow, one quick.
"Come in, Henry." she called. They walked in and Henry went to the professor, kissing her cheek.
"Bettie."
"Henry, what can I help you with?" she patted his arm gently.
"We're looking for a rare tome. Heirarchy of Hell?"
"I have that." she nodded. She went to a wall lined with books and pulled a few of them out. In the back was a different row of books, each old and tattered on the spine. She pulled one out and handed it to him before replacing the others. "What do you need it for?"
"Someone from the future came by to get it."
"The future, that is impressive. Who was the guest?"
"Apparently, my daughter."
"Daughter? Henry, I thought vampires couldn't..."
"Detective Celluci is involved with good magic there. He cast a spell."
"Ah. A proper apology, finally."
"He was due for one." Vicki muttered. The women shared a glance that held absolute agreement.
Henry saw the shared look, "He handed me over to Mendoza to protect Vicki."
"I didn't need protection and he knew it. Enough about that, though. Thank you for the book, Bettie." Vicki smiled.
"Not a problem. Be careful, both of you. The next Tudor, born in the twenty-first century. God save us." the professor giggled. Vicki laughed and Henry frowned at them both.
"I'm well aware my family was a nightmare, thank you very much."
"No, not all of them." Vicki soothed, leaving with him. "I'm a big fan of Elizabeth, actually."
"She let me live in the palace. She was a kind woman."
"Did she know?"
"Yes. After I ran from the Inquisition, I went to the palace to hide. I accidentally wound up in her chambers and she recognized me from her childhood. We were best friends for years."
"What'd you think of Mary?" she smiled. He frowned.
"You ever hear that legend, Bloody Mary?"
"Yes."
"I started that rumour."
"HENRY!" she hit his arm, laughing. They went back to the office and found Mike silent on the couch and Michelle going through cases.
"What did you do?" Henry frowned, looking at Mike's vacant stare.
"He was asking questions I can't tell him the answer to."
"Like?"
"Like, did he and mom ever date again. No one told me they went out in the first place."
"Yeah, Mike and I were on-again, off-again while we were both cops." Vicki looked at the cases. "You a detective?"
"I've been working with you for three years. You said I couldn't rely solely on the family savings and my artistic abilities because money can be spent and a lot of artists starve. You said I needed to have skills that would help me in the practical world. It's okay, I guess."
"Vicki..." Henry began.
"You agreed with her."
"Why would I discourage my own daughter from becoming an artist? I make a great living at it."
"Because I was meeting art boys that, in your opinion, were looking for a kind of inspiration you didn't want me to give them."
"How old are you? You are too young to be talking or even thinking about those things!" he scolded. Vicki smiled. "Here's the book." he sighed. In a burst of speed, the files were stacked and the small red-head took the book.
"Thanks."
"Hey, uh, how old am I there?" Vicki frowned.
"Do vampires really keep count, mom?"
"I'm a vampire there?"
"A scientist created synthetic blood and vampires have been outed. We're regular members of the nightlife there. There's no territorial issues, either. Can't get jealous of blood bags."
"Amazing. Synthetic blood?" Henry frowned. She nodded.
"They're trying to convince the vampire council to allow vampirism to be used as a cure to terminal illnesses."
"There's a council?" Vicki's eyebrows shot up.
Michelle nodded, "Dad's on it. All the oldest ones are. There are only about thirty. There were a large number of mortals that weren't happy when vampires were revealed. A lot were killed."
"How far into the future are you?"
"I'm seventeen. I was born about five years after you got married. You got married about three months after the synthetic blood was released, dad turned you on your honeymoon, the synthetic blood is releasing in one year."
"A little over twenty-three years." Henry nodded. She looked at the wall.
"Um...crap." she frowned.
"What?"
"I forgot the return spell."
"Wow, you didn't get that detective brain of mine, did you."
"No, I got an art brain. I hate when you criticize me like that." Michelle looked into Mike's eyes and he was released from his trance. "Unkie, make up a spell for me."
"A spell? I told you, I don't do magic."
"You do, I've seen you do it a million times. Besides, the best magic is the magic you make yourself. Just...go." she gently pushed Mike towards the wall where she'd arrived and he frowned.
"Uh...open sesame." he shrugged. Nada. He turned to them. "See, no magic."
"Y-you d-d-didn't even t-try." Michelle's lower lip started to tremble and her eyes watered. Mike held up his hands.
"Okay, okay, just don't cry!" he objected. She perked up immediately. Vicki looked at her, laughing.
"You have him wrapped around your finger."
"Him, daddy, Auco, everyone. I'm the princess." she smiled sweetly. Vicki looked at Henry accusingly.
"I didn't spoil her."
"Yet."
"Okay, quiet." Mike glared at them. "Um...I really don't know anything about magic, Michelle, so feel free to give me pointers. Vic, do you have a candle? Tall, thick?"
"Sure." she went to the filing cabinet and opened the bottom droor. "Emergency blackout kit." she explained, pulling out a white candle and handing it to the detective. Mike grabbed a black marker from the desk.
"Don't forget to visualize what's supposed to happen. Big blue portal." Michelle ordered.
"Is an hourglass okay?" he asked. Michelle gave a shrugged nod. He drew the symbol on the candle and lit it, then looked at the wall. "Uh...Portal to the other side, open up from time to time. Send Michelle back to her place, let her see a friendly face." He looked at the wall, hoping it would work, and a blue portal appeared with a bang. His jaw fell. "Whoa."
"You're a natural, Unkie. Bye mom, bye dad." She kissed their cheeks. "Tell Auco I'm sorry she wasn't here. But she and you should be hooking up soon, Unkie." She kissed Mike's cheek before going through the portal. It vanished with another bang and Mike blew the candle out.
"That was cool."
"Hey, magic man is born." Vicki took the candle and set it on her desk. "You should go call Coreen and set up a date or something."
"Coreen. Wow. This is all...very odd...how it turned out."
"Yeah, I would've thought you would be with Kate." Vicki shrugged. Mike looked at her.
"No. Coreen...Coreen and I have been together for a few weeks now." he admitted. Her jaw fell and she smiled. "Speaking of, I'm supposed to meet her at a club at midnight. I've gotta go." He left and Vicki closed the door after him.
"Maybe Fate has a good plan for us after all." she suggested idly. There was a breeze and she turned to see Henry inches from her.
"Let's go to my place, okay?"
"Okay." she nodded. They went to his penthouse and she laid down on the couch. "I am absolutely exhausted." she yawned. There was no reply and she sat up, looking around. "Henry?"
"In here." he called. She walked into his drawing area and saw him behind the art table.
"Working hard or hardly working?"
"Neither." He stood and walked to her, smiling.
"What?"
"Nothing." he grinned.
"Before you even start with the flirting, I'm not having sex with you."
"That was actually the farthest thing from my mind."
"...then why are you looking at me like that?" She took a step back. He laughed.
"No reason. Come on. You need some sleep."
"Why'd we come over here?"
"So I could watch over you while you sleep."
"Oh no. You're one of THOSE men." She rolled her eyes, the corners of her mouth tilted up.
"Yes, I am. You'll just have to live with it."
"I suppose." she smiled. She went to the bedroom and shed most of her clothes, grabbing one of his shirts from the closet to sleep in. He stood in the doorway, watching her as she brushed through her hair with her fingers and set her glasses on the bedside table.
"I've seen women in ballgowns, bustiers, and bustles, but never have I seen any woman so beautiful as the one in nothing but my shirt." he grinned.
"What'd I just tell you?"
"Just go to sleep." he smiled.
"Bite me." She made a face at him and got into the bed, punching the pillow and settling in. He moved around to lie down on the other side of the bed so that they were face to face. Her eyes were closed. He waited for her breathing to slow and pulled the box from his pocket that he'd taken from his drawing area. He opened it and slid the ring onto her finger, careful not to wake her.
"I'll be with you from this day forth and I will never leave you. Even if I never see the sun or feel its heat again, you will always illuminate my nights, warm me when I've forgotten how to feel love, because I can never forget how when I am with you. I will hold you because I love you and I will hold you closer when you try to push me away. I will never give you to another, I will never leave you to yourself. I love you, Victoria." His lips skimmed over her forehead and she smiled in her seep.
When he woke the next night, there was a small scrap of paper on her pillow with three lines on it.
I do.
I love you.
I'll see you tonight.