Well it seems it's not as hard as I thought keeping this story and my Stolen Moments set separate in my head. So, I may be able to update both at about the same time. Don't quote me on that. If it comes down to it, Stolen Moments will win. Sorry. This chapter contains spoilers for Revelations Part 2 and some angst. Enjoy.

Bold = thoughts

Bold Italics = telepathic messages

Disclaimer: I do not own Sanctuary or any of its characters.


Chapter 2

Natalija slipped quietly into the flat she shared, with her mother and brother, here in London. She hoped it was late enough that both would be in their rooms already, as was their custom. It's not that anyone in her family really slept much. Her mother required considerably less sleep than a normal human, while her and Vladimyr needed no sleep, unless they were gravely injured, or she overtaxed her talent. They pretty much used it as their down time; reading, journaling, listening to music, even doing nothing at all. That, of course, was not the case tonight.

"How was your walk?" her brother asked, as soon as she closed the door.

She didn't even flinch, outwardly anyway. Inside she cringed. "Fine. You didn't have to wait up for me. I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself, as you well know."

Vladimyr rose from his chair and made his way over to his sister, helping her remove her cloak, "It's not you I'm worried about, but the people around you." He inhaled deeply, "Especially, the males."

Damn him! "Relax," she nearly growled. "He was very much alive and unharmed when I left him."

"I don't smell alcohol, so not at a bar. What did you do? Pick him up off the stre…" he started, only to be slammed up against the wall.

Natalija's hand was around his throat, pinning him in place. Vladimyr could feel her talons digging into his flesh, as she squeezed just enough to keep him from talking. Her eyes were that deep red that more resembled black, and he could see her fangs when she snarled at him. Normally, he would take pleasure in getting a rise out of his sister, but that had not been his intention this time. Her violent reaction to his comment was unexpected and a bit worrisome.

Fighting back his own transformation, he opened his mind. I'm sorry, Tali. I didn't mean anything by it. I just wish you wouldn't go picking up strange men. You never know what you're getting yourself into. To be truthful, he was worried about her. She hadn't been herself, since they had gone to see Uncle James for the last time. Going to his funeral had done nothing to improve her disposition, either.

Natalija sighed and released him. She spun away from him, as she returned to her human form. It was hard to stay angry at him, especially when he was trying to be so sweet. Thinking about sweet, her mind wandered back to the image of Declan sleeping. Her breath hitched for a moment.

"Natalija?"

"I didn't 'pick him up' anywhere," she informed her brother. "I ran into him at the Sanctuary."

Vladimyr actually sputtered, "You went to the Sanctuary and ended up sleeping with who? One of the residents?"

"No," his sister answered. "I went to the Sanctuary and slept with the Head of House."

"What!" her brother dropped down into the nearest chair. "You slept with Uncle James' protégé, Declan MacRae?"

"The one and the same."

There was something in Natalija's voice. Something that caused Vladimyr's heart to clench. He just couldn't quite figure it out. Regret? Sorrow? Pain? No, worse! All of the above!

Natalija mistook her brother's silence for disapproval. "Don't worry! I took care of it. When he wakes up, it will be nothing but a dream for him. A good dream, but a dream none the less."

"What about you?" her brother questioned. He rose again and took her hands in his. She tried to pull away, but he held fast. Vladimyr wanted to look into her eyes, but she refused to raise her head.

"What about me? It's not like I haven't made a lover forget about me before," she responded, trying to sound nonchalant. She failed miserably.

Her brother released one of her hands to tip her face up and searched her eyes, "That's true. But I've never seen it affect you like this before. Ever!"

"I don't know what you're going on about. It is no different than any other time," Natalija told him, but she had averted her eyes.

Vladimyr dragged her to the sofa and pulled her down to sit facing him. He spoke sharply, "I may not be telepathic, my dear sister, but I will always know when you are lying to me."

She snapped her head around to glare at him. Then she sighed and dropped her head once more. She whispered, "Why can you not just let this go? Please, Vladimyr."

"I cannot let it go, because it is causing you pain, Natalija," he replied, lifting her chin to see her face, once more.

He saw the tears start to slide down her cheeks, as she began to cry silently. He released her chin and pulled her into a hug. He began to absently rub her back, as he murmured soothing words in her ear. He hated to see her so upset, but at least she was letting it out. Watching her struggle to hold everything in, over the past two weeks, had been eating away at him. He was her big brother. The one who was supposed to protect her; keep her from all harm. But he could not, it seems, protect her from life.

Slowly, Natalija's crying abated, and she pulled slightly away from her brother's hold. Swiping at her tears with the back of her hand, she gave him a small grin, "Looks like you're going to have to change your shirt."

Vladimyr glanced down at the rather large wet spot on the front of his shirt and smiled back at her, "Looks like."

"I'm sorry, Vladimyr. I didn't mean to treat you so harshly," she apologized softly.

Reaching to wipe away a stray tear, he answered her, "Don't worry about it. What are older brothers for?"

She hit him on the arm, "You are only five minutes older."

"I'm still older," he smirked.

"And, obviously, wiser," she said, becoming serious again. She held up a hand, when he tried to speak. "Don't misunderstand me. I knew what I should have done, but couldn't bring myself to do it. I cannot truly explain why. Perhaps it was because we felt the same pain; shared the same loss. I just knew that I didn't want to go. I wanted to be with him. Afterwards…when we lay together, it felt… different. I felt cherished, maybe even loved. I don't know."

"But" her brother prompted.

She took a deep breath, "I knew I couldn't let him remember, so I did what I had to. Now there is this ache in my heart. How could he come to mean so much to me in such a short time?"

Vladimyr noted that she couldn't even bring herself to say Declan's name. She's got it bad. "It's not as if you just met a total stranger. I mean Uncle James told us a lot about… Declan." He gauged her reaction to the mere mention of his name; eyes widened, breath caught in her throat, and a faint blush covered her cheeks. Correction. She's got it really bad.

x x x x x

Helen had been listening, from her bedroom doorway, to her children's conversation. Her original intention had not been to eavesdrop, but to stop whatever had caused the thud on her bedroom wall. Having come in on the part about where her daughter had 'picked up' her comfort for the night, made Helen freeze in her tracks. As the conversation continued, she knew she was going to have to put some distance between her daughter and Declan MacRae. At least for the time being.

Tomorrow, she decided, she would charter a flight. They would return to the New Sanctuary. She should be there to oversee the final stages of the construction, anyway. There really was no point to staying in London. They could mourn James just as well at home as they could here. Perhaps all any of them needed was to get back into their work; to focus on the task at hand. She could only hope.


Hope you all liked. Nap times over, so it's back to the kiddies. Thanks for reading. Until next time.