Hi, all. When I started this it was going to be a one shot, but now I'm not so sure. There are all these ideas screaming to be part of this story. Not sure when they will get written, because I'm still working on Stolen Moments. BTW, as mentioned, this story contains on O/C from that story. Even if you haven't read the other, you should still get an idea of who she is in this story. Spoilers for Season 1: Revelations Parts 1 & 2. Hope you enjoy.
Bold = thoughts.
Disclaimer: I don't own Sanctuary or any of the characters.
Natalija Bancroft traversed the halls of the UK Sanctuary without a sound. Had it really only been two weeks since she was here last to see Uncle James? Spoken with him? Hugged him? Said goodbye to him? All for the last time! Two weeks since her and her brother had let their uncle go on the trip he would not return from, even though they knew!
As the pain of her loss and anger washed over her, she felt her body shift; talons grew, fangs sharpened, eyes darkened to a red/black. She stopped and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. This would not do. What would Uncle James say about her losing control, about letting her emotions override her sensibilities? He had once told her she was emotional like her father and impetuous like her mother. Not a good combination, for someone like her. After a few more moments of concentration, she reverted to her human form. With a smile to herself, she continued on her way.
Natalija hadn't really thought about where she was going, when she told her mother and brother that she needed some air. She had just thrown on her cloak, pulled up the hood, and started walking. She wasn't all that surprised when her feet brought her to the rear entrance of the UK Sanctuary. Now she stood outside her uncle's bedroom door.
Having made it through the building without setting off an alarm or running into any of the residents, didn't phase her much either. After all, this had been her home, on and off, for a considerable amount of her long life. She knew this place better than most of the current residents. Perhaps, even better than the present staff knew it.
Natalija reached out and laid her palm flat against the antique wooden door and sighed. I miss you so very much Uncle James.
"Can I help you with something?" A very male, definitely British voice questioned from behind her.
Once again, she had let her emotions take control. She hadn't even heard this man come up on her. She was glad Uncle James was not here to see this. It was so unbefitting for a vampire to be taken unaware by a human, even one trained by her uncle.
Natalija twirled around to look at the man, her skirt and cloak briefly swirling around her legs. She instantly recognized him as her uncle's protégé, Declan MacRae. She replied calmly, "No, Mr. MacRae, I don't think you can help me. For, as of yet, there is no cure for death."
x x x x x
Declan MacRae couldn't sleep. God knows he had tried. For hours he laid on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. He even tried a hot shower, to no avail. Finally giving up, he had gotten dressed and decided to go for a walk. He moved without really knowing where he was going. His mind was focused on his current situation.
With James gone, he had been asked to assume leadership of the UK Sanctuary. He needed to mourn the lose of his close friend and still keep everything running smoothly. Magnus had assured him that he was doing a fine job, when she had arrived for the funeral. Unfortunately, it had not alleviated his fears all that much. He knew she was trying to help, but she herself had been distracted by the currently unfolding plans of the Cabal. Not that he could blame her, the bloody bastards had taken her daughter, Ashley.
Before he knew it, he was standing in the hallway near James' room. He momentarily froze when he saw a figure, in a dark hooded cloak, standing near James' bedroom door. Her, yes it was most definitely a female, hand was pressed flat against the old wood.
"Can I help you with something?" Declan asked.
When she turned to face him, his heart skipped a beat. The movement was so fluid, beyond graceful. He was so entranced by her that he nearly missed her answer to his question.
She spoke with a lilting British accent, "No, Mr. MacRae, I don't think you can help me. For, as of yet, there is no cure for death."
x x x x x
Declan was stunned for a second, before he found his voice, "How do you know my name?"
"Uncle James often spoke highly of his newest protégé. He said you were the best of them all. Which is quite a compliment, I must say," she replied matter-of-factly.
"Uncle James?" he questioned, crossing his arms in front of his chest.
"Yes," she nodded, "My family and I lived here for some time, when I was younger. Uncle James and my mother had been good friends. He was the closest thing I had to a father, at the time."
Natalija didn't know why she was telling him any of this. She really should just leave. It would be safer in the long run to go now. She could walk with Declan back to his room. It would be an easy thing to block his memory, make him believe it was only a dream. Something kept her from doing what she knew she should do, though. Perhaps it was the way he looked at her, even though he couldn't truly see her wrapped as she was in her cloak. Or maybe, it was the pain she saw reflected in his eyes at the mention of Uncle James. Whatever the reason, she held off, for the moment.
"I'm sorry. I can see you cared a great deal for him," Declan said, his stance softening.
"As did you," Natalija responded, reaching out to brush her fingertips lightly across his cheek. She didn't have to read his mind to see that he had cared about her uncle, it was in his eyes and his words.
Declan's eyes widened at the feather-light caress and his breath caught in his throat. Her touch had set all his nerves to tingling. It was as if static electricity danced over the entirety of his skin. Upon seeing his reaction, she pulled away quickly, clasping her hands firmly together in front of her.
"Please forgive me. I had no right," she whispered. She had no idea what had possessed her to do that. All she knew was that she suddenly had this uncontrollable urge to touch him. It had to be the grief, the pain of losing someone that had meant so much to her. It had to be.
"There's nothing to forgive," Declan told her, stepping closer. He had this overwhelming desire to see her. He knew, without a doubt, that he would find her physical form as beautiful as he found her soul to be. He didn't know where this was coming from, only that it was hard to resist. Maybe the stress of the last week was finally catching up with him. That had to be it.
Whatever the reason, he found himself carefully unfastening her cloak. Gently, he pushed back the hood and let the garment fall to the floor in a pile around her feet. She stood unmoving, made no protests to his actions. The first thing he noticed were her bright blue eyes. He knew he had seen eyes so similar quite recently, but his mind couldn't seem to grasp the image. As his focus widened, he took in her beautifully long dark auburn hair that framed her pale face. She wore black heels and a deep purple ankle length dress with long sleeves. Although the dress was not formfitting, it did show off her curves nicely.
"You're absolutely beautiful!" Declan exclaimed.
Natalija felt herself blush and cast her eyes down. Why was this man having such an effect on her? She had been told she was beautiful many times before by both men and women. This time there was something about the way he said it, as if he really saw her; the real her, not the one she let the world see. This frightened and thrilled her at the same time. She peeked up at him through her lashes, to find him still looking at her.
"Please," he spoke quietly, "I didn't mean to embarrass you." Placing a finger under her chin, he brought her face up to look into her eyes. "I meant what I said. You are beautiful. You shouldn't be ashamed of that." He slid his hand along her jaw to cup her cheek.
Closing her eyes, Natalija leaned into his touch. She sighed, "I'm not embarrassed. It's just that I…" She opened her eyes and licked her lips, trying to sort through her suddenly jumbled thoughts, "This feels… I don't know…"
"I know what you mean," Declan agreed.
Before either of them knew it, their lips were pressed together. Declan's arms were wrapped around her waist pulling her against him. Natalija reached her arms up around his neck, burying her fingers in his hair. His tongue brushed across her lower lip and her mouth opened to allow him entrance. Their tongues fought for control, until they had to break apart for air.
"I'm not usually this forward…" Declan said trying to catch his breath.
Natalija smiled and responded breathily, "Talia. My name is Talia. And I know. But… maybe just this once…"
Declan reached for her cloak with one hand and took one of her hands in the other. He led her through the halls to his room, stopping to kiss her every so often.
x x x x x
Natalija kissed her lover's lips tenderly, running her fingers through his hair one more time. She looked into his eyes, "You really should get some sleep, Declan, my love. Things are only going to get worse, before this is over."
"Will I see you again, Talia?" he yawned, "I want to see you again, please." He had all he could do to keep his eyes from closing.
"Yes, Declan. I promise we will most definitely see each other again. Now sleep, my love. When you wake this will be no more than a dream for you. But I'll remember for the both of us," she softly stroked his cheek as he fell into a deep sleep.
Natalija rose from the bed and dressed silently. Her heart nearly broke as she watched Declan sleeping so peacefully. Slipping out of his room, she made her way to the back door.
x x x x x
The next morning, Declan awoke completely relaxed and calm. Opening his eyes, he smiled to himself as flashes of his dream returned to his mind. He had spent an amazing night making love to the most beautiful woman he had ever met in his dreams or reality. As he rose to face the day, he wondered if he would ever find a real woman who would compare to his dream lover.
So? I'm not very good at romance and even worse at smut. This is the closest I've ever really gotten to either. Tell me what you think. Thanks for reading.