Chapter 4

Natalie Lambert sat at her desk looking down at an open file. She was adding the last of her autopsy findings into the tape recorder when her favorite patient entered the lab. Nick walked over to lean against the counter in front of her desk and smiled a silent greeting. The coroner returned the smile as she ended her statement. "Cause of death, strangulation."

With a click, the recorder stopped and Natalie put it down on the desk. She looked up into Nick's handsome face as she sat back in her chair. He looked tired. He looked tired a lot lately, and it concerned her a great deal. "Are you finished for the night?" She glanced at the clock. "Time off for good behavior?"

A short laugh left the detective as he pulled a hand out of a coat pocket and absentmindedly fiddled with a microscope sitting on the counter. "Well, not exactly. I wasn't quite the model employee tonight, but it was slow, and after Tracy and I finished catching up on some paperwork, Reese let us leave a little early."

Nat grinned. Not quite the model employee? Can you say understatement, boys and girls? I knew you could.

Nick's independence and occasional bending of the rules had put him at odds with the department and his superiors several times over the years. Being a vampire allowed him a deeper knowledge of certain situations, and when he went off on what looked like a crazy tangent to the mortals he worked with, it only confirmed their view of him as a half-cocked renegade. His success, however, always quieted the grumbling and readjusted the attitudes. Since Reese let him go early, she was fairly certain tonight's infraction had been a minor one. "Translate 'wasn't quite the model employee' for me. Have you been messing with the captain's ulcer again, Nick?"

He continued to tamper with the objectives on the microscope as he cast Nat a roguish smile. "Oh, I don't think I caused too much excess acid tonight. I was a few minutes late. That's all."

The smile made Natalie's pulse rate jump. Her feelings for Nick, along with his striking physical appearance, combined to do the most terribly unpredictable things to her composure sometimes. She dropped her gaze to the desktop and took a mental deep breath. The out-of-control feeling frightened and annoyed her, but there seemed to be little she could do about the way she felt. She loved him more than anyone she'd known, and his effect on her went far beyond anything she had ever experienced. Did she really want to do anything about it? If the truth be known, the feeling excited her in a way she didn't want to examine too closely. Maybe that was what bothered her more than anything?

She turned her attention back to Nick's playful expression and tried to get her mind back to the conversation. "Late? Don't tell me you overslept? No, on second thought, tell me you overslept. It's such a mortal thing to do-hitting the snooze button and thinking to yourself, 'Just five more minutes.'" She closed her eyes as she said the last words.

Detective Knight chuckled softly. "Sorry, Nat. I didn't oversleep. But you might be just as pleased with the real reason I was late. How mortal is looking for a birthday present for a new six-year-old?"

Nat's eyes popped open, and her dreamy smile widened. Elliot Simmons.

Meeting the boy and his parents had been one of the most positive things that had happened in Nick's life over the last several months, if not the most positive thing. They'd come along at a time when he needed a fresh connection with the mortal world. And surprisingly, he'd allowed himself the closeness.

His acceptance was encouraging. She'd had little else to be encouraged about lately. Nick's enthusiasm for their search was slowly diminishing. But this one instance gave her hope that he would overcome the setbacks and put more of an effort into working toward a cure. She hoped. She would always hope. And although her exposure to 'The Jerry Show' had brought her to the brink, and she'd come close to washing her hands of everything, in the end, the experience had convinced her once and for all that she would never give up on Nick. Never.

Nat leaned forward in her chair and rested her arms across the desk as she looked up at him. "I'd say that qualifies as very mortal. Still haven't found anything?"

"No." Dejection shaded Nick's expression. "And I'm running out of time. I want it to be something special, Nat. Something that he'll keep."

Natalie moved her attention from Nick's face to the hand that was still fascinated by the microscope and then back to his face. She couldn't believe how hard he was making this one little task. "So, along with the clothes we eliminated last week, you've now set aside toys as a possibility? You're not leaving yourself open for much, Nick. He's only six, ya know." He shot her an irritated look, and she held up her hands in a gesture of surrender. "I know. I know. This is the first and you want it to be special."

Since Natalie was not as close to the boy as Nick, she really had no other ideas to contribute. When he'd asked her for some suggestions last week, she'd inquired about any particular likes Elliot might have, but the detective had been rather vague. She'd only had a couple of opportunities to meet Jacob and his family, and Nick, as usual, didn't talk about them as much as one might expect. What little she had been around the Simmons family had shown them to be very pleasant and likable, but Natalie wasn't on the same wavelength, so to speak. Jacob, Elizabeth and Nick shared interests that she did not have, and even though she loved Nick, she did not share his closeness with the Simmons'. So, she had no idea what a 'special' gift for Elliot might mean.

Nick remained silent while his attention moved back to the microscope. He was still playing with it. Natalie got up and walked over to stand in front of him. "Look, Detective Knight, I know you're a little frustrated right now, but this is an expensive piece of equipment, and you're going to do some irrevocable damage if you don't give it a rest." She smiled at his bent head as she reached out and stayed the pale hand on the microscope.

As expected, his skin was very cool, but the contact sent a warm excitement rushing through her body. Again, her pulse jump, and when Nick raised his head to look into her eyes, she knew he had heard the disturbance. His hand moved from the instrument to capture hers in a light, but firm grip, and Natalie couldn't seem to find her voice. The out-of-control feeling had returned, and she was drowning in the deep blue of his eyes.

As they continued to silently gaze at one another, Nick's thumb started a slow, soothing movement across the back of Natalie's hand. She closed her eyes against the turbulence the simple, yet seductive action created in her mind and body, and against the intoxicating desire she saw on Nick's face. A desire they had both decided, for now at least, was too dangerous for them to pursue. She heard his whispered "Natalie" softly resound in her ears.

God help me. I want him. I love him. She struggled to get her feelings back under some kind of control. This is crazy. What's the matter with you? Get a hold of yourself, Lambert!

She opened her eyes to find the need on Nick's face had't lessened, and she was once again floundering in the cool depths of his eyes. He whispered her name a second time. It was the most beautiful sound she had ever heard. Somehow, she was losing herself in him. As if she was being drawn into him. She wanted him to hold her...to love her. She wanted to become part of him. She wanted... A small voice somewhere amidst the chaos of her thoughts reminded her exactly what that meant, and she began to fight for some semblance of equilibrium. She had to break the spell he was weaving.

Spell? What was she thinking? Was he weaving a spell, or was she just overwhelmed by her need for closer physical contact with him? She worked to find her tongue. Elliot. We're talking about Elliot.

When she finally found it, her voice sounded shaky and uncertain to her ears. "Ah...ah...music. How about music, Nick?" With the question, the detective's expression became inquisitive, and the caressing movement of his thumb stopped. Natalie breathed a silent sigh of relief before continuing. "I know you and Jacob share an interest in classical music. Has Elliot shown any interest or desire to play? I know he's young, but the younger the better. Isn't that what they say?" Was she babbling? She hoped it didn't sound as if she were babbling. "You couldn't very well buy him a grand piano. Not that you couldn't afford one. Maybe you could start him out with something small that he could learn on. Say, maybe...well, I don't know. I'm just thinking out loud here."

Nick's expression turned thoughtful. He stood silently for a moment as he considered what she'd said. Then an awareness seemed to come to him and along with it a smile. He caught Natalie by surprise as he leaned forward to place a kiss on her cheek. "That's it, Nat. I've just thought of a great gift. I don't know why I didn't think of it before. Thank you, thank you." He planted another quick kiss on her cheek as he captured her other hand and held both of them in front of him. "I knew you would come up with something. Thanks."

Confused seemed an inadequate word to describe her state of mind at the moment as Natalie tried to gather her thoughts and recover from the previous few minutes. Obviously her music suggestion had been an inspiration, but an inspiration for what? "Well, I'm glad to be of help, detective." The slightly perplexed expression was replaced with a satisfied smile. "Mind telling me what exactly I've come up with?"

The smile continued to play on his mouth while Nick shook his head. "No, I don't mind, but I'd really rather show you. How about coming over to the loft after your shift?"

Natalie hesitated. After what just happened, she didn't know if that would be such a good idea. She had her wits about her again, but she didn't want to tempt fate. She was very conscious of the cool hands that held hers as she searched Nick's face for any sign of the passion she'd seen there only moments ago. None was evident. The contented smile and a look of anticipation as he awaited her answer were all she noted. He appeared completely oblivious to the confusion he had created only minutes earlier, and looked as if he hadn't been affected at all. Maybe she'd just imagined the whole thing? I don't think so!

She most certainly hadn't imagined her feelings, but maybe she'd seen more than was actually there in Nick's? Did he even realize what he had done? Had he really done anything? Surely he wouldn't have tried to entice her on purpose. Their feelings for one another just got a little out of hand, nothing more. He knew, better than she, how dangerous it was, no matter how much they both longed for the closeness. He would never try to influence her in that way. Besides, he couldn't.

She gave herself a hard mental shake as she tried to rationalize her reaction to Nick's caress. You're tired. You're not thinking straight. That's why you're so hypersensitive this morning. You're letting your imagination, and your love for this man, run away with you.

She brought her attention back to her friend's question. Her curiosity was aroused, and she did want to see the gift Nick had decided on for his young friend. She smiled up at the attractive detective. "Yeah, sure. I can't wait to get a load of this 'great' present."

"Wonderful. I'll see you in about an hour or so." He lifted her hands one by one to his mouth and placed a kiss on the back of each one. Giving them a gentle squeeze, he released her and headed out of the lab.

Natalie watched Nick's retreating back as a troubled frown creased her brow. His recent setbacks had done some serious damage to his control. Maybe there was more to this little incident than she wanted to believe? She tried to convince herself that there was no incident and it was all in her exhausted mind, but she wouldn't completely accept that explanation. She recalled, only a few weeks ago, when she'd watched in shock as Nick hypnotized Detective Fullford at the precinct in front of dozens of officers. His fascination with the virtual reality vampire game had done much to weaken both his judgment and conviction. He told her that once he stopped playing the game its effects on him had stopped, but she had her doubts. Was this morning proof that he still hadn't shaken its influence? But had anything sinister really happened this morning, or were four days of fifteen-hour shifts starting to take their toll?

She turned back to her desk to stack the report she'd been working on in the 'Out' box, and put the tape recorder in the drawer. She would go over to the loft to check on Nick, see the mysterious gift and then get back to her place. Since she still hadn't completely convinced herself that what happened was nothing more than a fatigue-affected imagination working overtime, she decided not to confront Nick with her thoughts. She really needed a good day's rest.

End Chapter 4