Dr. Nicholas Chevalier got out of his car with a deep sigh and walked to his door, all the while trying his hardest to keep his anger in check. Considering her condition at the moment, he certainly didn't want to upset his wife, and at this distance, the bloodlink he shared with her would alert her to his ire most certainly if he didn't calm down.
But it was very hard.
He knew he had overreacted with the fledgling. No doubt his master had forced the young vampire to come and check on him; it wasn't his fault that he'd been unlucky enough to be caught in the crossfire between LaCroix and himself. But Nick had needed an outlet, and the young vampire had been perfect to let off some steam.
And there was a lot of steam to let off. Between the stress of the office, Natalie's condition, and poor Natasha, the blonde vampire was ready to be put in a straightjacket...voluntarily. But he couldn't think of that now. Now, he had to be the loving supportive husband for his lovely wife.
Forget the office; he was home.
Forget all the things that could happen to his wife, and think of all the wonderful things that were ahead.
Forget...
No, he couldn't forget Natasha. Even pushing aside the grief that he felt for his former patient, Nick couldn't quite still his mind concerning the deceased young woman. Every-thing about her murder screamed trouble to his sensibilities, and not just because her body had been found in his office.
It was too close to...Nat. Of all the people to be killed by the Flower-Bearer, as the newspapers were calling him due to his tendency to leave a bouquet at the scene, the murderer had chosen Natasha.
Natasha, whose auburn curls had often been the source of comparisons to his wife.
Natasha, who he'd often called Nat simply out of habit.
Natasha, who wore the same perfume as his beloved.
And from what he read in the papers, all the victims had been young, with curly red hair, and petite.
It was all too similar, all too close...all too frightening. It made him think of all the times his wife had been in danger in their past, and he didn't want to think of his past. He'd left Toronto, left that life, for her. To start a life with Natalie as free from hazard as possible. True, there was nothing he could do about the Enforcers, but he would protect her from anything else that came. He would-
Stand there blankly while Natalie poked him in the stomach.
"Nick?" she asked carefully, waving a hand in front of his face. It was standard procedure for when she thought he was flashbacking, and this vacant look was a tell-tale sign that her knight was currently in another century. "Nick, are you okay?"
Nick, plastering a smile on his face, shook his head and caught her hand with his mouth in a playful nibble. The mischievous action served to make his wife smile, then laugh, in a way that almost made her glow. God, but she was beautiful, he thought with a mental sigh, what would I ever do without her?
"You back from the twilight zone, or were you imagining that my hand was some blonde bimbo's throat?" Natalie asked with a wide grin.
"No, I'm back..." he assured her with a kiss on the cheek and a lighthearted chuckle, "And the only bimbo I want to bite is right here in front of me!"
Natalie gave a mock-growl, then plunged her hand into his hair, mussing it horribly. "Oh, I'm a bimbo, am I?"
"Well," he reasoned as he pulled her into his arms, "You'd have to be, because there is no way that a woman could be as perfect as that. The most beautiful, AND the most intelligent? No way..."
"Nick..."
"And if there was, she CERTAINLY wouldn't be smooching with a mussed-up vampire on the front porch."
Nat smiled, then gave him a light punch to the shoulder. "What do you mean? We aren't smooching..."
Nick seemed to think for a moment, then pressed his lips to hers, gently massaging those warm familiar lips with his own. Gradually, his tongue snaked out past his teeth and into her mouth, savoring the taste of his wife, knowing that he'd never find anyone as perfect, as wonderful, as the woman he was kissing this very moment.
When the two finally unlocked from one another, Natalie, with a rather woozy smile on her lipstick-smeared lips, proclaimed with a giggle, "I stand corrected..."
"Ha," Nick replied with a grin, "You shouldn't be standing at all, you know..."
Natalie had the good grace to look slightly ashamed. But only slightly.
"Well, I just saw you standing at the door with that look on your face, and I got his strange vibe from our link, and-"
"And nothing..." he admonished gently, "You know the doctor's orders. You know how close it's getting."
"I know." His wife admitted, "But I must say it was worth the effort..."
"Thank you." Nick answered with a smirk as he guided Natalie, then himself, into the house. After this, he closed the door, grabbed the remote, and plopped unceremoniously on the couch. Despite the playful scene at the door, he was tired both emotionally and mentally. Which is why he was very delighted to feel familiar warm hands slip around his neck and begin kneading his muscles.
A second later, Natalie walked around the couch and sat down next to him, still massaging his shoulders and neck.
"What was it, Nick?" she asked quietly as he turned and leaned gently back into her lap, "What was bothering you earlier at the door?"
Nick froze, desperately not wanting to talk about it.
"It was upsetting you, I could tell..." Natalie continued carefully, the pressure in her hands never changing despite the obvious concern in her tone, "I...we felt it."
Immediately, the vampire's eye turned to look at his wife's enlarged abdomen. There, inside of the woman he loved above all others, grew their child, their reason for everything. The child that had saved her life, and the love they shared.
He remembered the night so clearly.
Losing Tracy. Admitting his love for Natalie. Their fight. Their love. The feeling of her blood rushing into his mouth. The emotions that spilled into him as her blood filtered into his body, as her mind fused with his own. The sound of her heart beating as if it was his own.
All interrupted by the sound of ANOTHER heartbeat within her.
Shocked, he'd pulled away from her, the bloodlust that had been creeping into him blasted away by confusion. Just in time. Just in time to prevent him from killing her, from taking too much.
He felt another poke, this time to his back.
"Nick?" Natalie asked, momentarily stopping her massage.
"Just thinking about the baby..." he admitted in half-truth.
"And?" she continued, knowing her husband better, perhaps, then even he knew himself.
"Natasha..." Nick confessed tiredly, looking up to stare into her eyes, "Natasha, and those Flower-Bearer murders...they worry me."
Natalie raised an eyebrow.
"Why?"
"Well-"
"It wouldn't happen to have anything to do with the victim profile, would it?" she asked suspiciously, "How it happens to resemble me a bit?"
He nodded wordlessly. There was no use in lying to her. Somehow, she always found out.
"Well, you shouldn't worry..." she admonished as she continued with her work on his still-tense shoulders, "I know how to protect myself. I'm a big girl, if you didn't notice..."
Nick sighed tiredly, letting go of some of the worry that had plagued him all night, then grinned as he claimed her lips with his own. His arms wrapped around her body as he carefully pulled himself up to eye-level with Natalie.
"Oh, I've noticed..." he whispered seductively, remembering the first time he'd uttered those words to her, "I've noticed."
"Then do something about it..."
And he did.
But it was very hard.
He knew he had overreacted with the fledgling. No doubt his master had forced the young vampire to come and check on him; it wasn't his fault that he'd been unlucky enough to be caught in the crossfire between LaCroix and himself. But Nick had needed an outlet, and the young vampire had been perfect to let off some steam.
And there was a lot of steam to let off. Between the stress of the office, Natalie's condition, and poor Natasha, the blonde vampire was ready to be put in a straightjacket...voluntarily. But he couldn't think of that now. Now, he had to be the loving supportive husband for his lovely wife.
Forget the office; he was home.
Forget all the things that could happen to his wife, and think of all the wonderful things that were ahead.
Forget...
No, he couldn't forget Natasha. Even pushing aside the grief that he felt for his former patient, Nick couldn't quite still his mind concerning the deceased young woman. Every-thing about her murder screamed trouble to his sensibilities, and not just because her body had been found in his office.
It was too close to...Nat. Of all the people to be killed by the Flower-Bearer, as the newspapers were calling him due to his tendency to leave a bouquet at the scene, the murderer had chosen Natasha.
Natasha, whose auburn curls had often been the source of comparisons to his wife.
Natasha, who he'd often called Nat simply out of habit.
Natasha, who wore the same perfume as his beloved.
And from what he read in the papers, all the victims had been young, with curly red hair, and petite.
It was all too similar, all too close...all too frightening. It made him think of all the times his wife had been in danger in their past, and he didn't want to think of his past. He'd left Toronto, left that life, for her. To start a life with Natalie as free from hazard as possible. True, there was nothing he could do about the Enforcers, but he would protect her from anything else that came. He would-
Stand there blankly while Natalie poked him in the stomach.
"Nick?" she asked carefully, waving a hand in front of his face. It was standard procedure for when she thought he was flashbacking, and this vacant look was a tell-tale sign that her knight was currently in another century. "Nick, are you okay?"
Nick, plastering a smile on his face, shook his head and caught her hand with his mouth in a playful nibble. The mischievous action served to make his wife smile, then laugh, in a way that almost made her glow. God, but she was beautiful, he thought with a mental sigh, what would I ever do without her?
"You back from the twilight zone, or were you imagining that my hand was some blonde bimbo's throat?" Natalie asked with a wide grin.
"No, I'm back..." he assured her with a kiss on the cheek and a lighthearted chuckle, "And the only bimbo I want to bite is right here in front of me!"
Natalie gave a mock-growl, then plunged her hand into his hair, mussing it horribly. "Oh, I'm a bimbo, am I?"
"Well," he reasoned as he pulled her into his arms, "You'd have to be, because there is no way that a woman could be as perfect as that. The most beautiful, AND the most intelligent? No way..."
"Nick..."
"And if there was, she CERTAINLY wouldn't be smooching with a mussed-up vampire on the front porch."
Nat smiled, then gave him a light punch to the shoulder. "What do you mean? We aren't smooching..."
Nick seemed to think for a moment, then pressed his lips to hers, gently massaging those warm familiar lips with his own. Gradually, his tongue snaked out past his teeth and into her mouth, savoring the taste of his wife, knowing that he'd never find anyone as perfect, as wonderful, as the woman he was kissing this very moment.
When the two finally unlocked from one another, Natalie, with a rather woozy smile on her lipstick-smeared lips, proclaimed with a giggle, "I stand corrected..."
"Ha," Nick replied with a grin, "You shouldn't be standing at all, you know..."
Natalie had the good grace to look slightly ashamed. But only slightly.
"Well, I just saw you standing at the door with that look on your face, and I got his strange vibe from our link, and-"
"And nothing..." he admonished gently, "You know the doctor's orders. You know how close it's getting."
"I know." His wife admitted, "But I must say it was worth the effort..."
"Thank you." Nick answered with a smirk as he guided Natalie, then himself, into the house. After this, he closed the door, grabbed the remote, and plopped unceremoniously on the couch. Despite the playful scene at the door, he was tired both emotionally and mentally. Which is why he was very delighted to feel familiar warm hands slip around his neck and begin kneading his muscles.
A second later, Natalie walked around the couch and sat down next to him, still massaging his shoulders and neck.
"What was it, Nick?" she asked quietly as he turned and leaned gently back into her lap, "What was bothering you earlier at the door?"
Nick froze, desperately not wanting to talk about it.
"It was upsetting you, I could tell..." Natalie continued carefully, the pressure in her hands never changing despite the obvious concern in her tone, "I...we felt it."
Immediately, the vampire's eye turned to look at his wife's enlarged abdomen. There, inside of the woman he loved above all others, grew their child, their reason for everything. The child that had saved her life, and the love they shared.
He remembered the night so clearly.
Losing Tracy. Admitting his love for Natalie. Their fight. Their love. The feeling of her blood rushing into his mouth. The emotions that spilled into him as her blood filtered into his body, as her mind fused with his own. The sound of her heart beating as if it was his own.
All interrupted by the sound of ANOTHER heartbeat within her.
Shocked, he'd pulled away from her, the bloodlust that had been creeping into him blasted away by confusion. Just in time. Just in time to prevent him from killing her, from taking too much.
He felt another poke, this time to his back.
"Nick?" Natalie asked, momentarily stopping her massage.
"Just thinking about the baby..." he admitted in half-truth.
"And?" she continued, knowing her husband better, perhaps, then even he knew himself.
"Natasha..." Nick confessed tiredly, looking up to stare into her eyes, "Natasha, and those Flower-Bearer murders...they worry me."
Natalie raised an eyebrow.
"Why?"
"Well-"
"It wouldn't happen to have anything to do with the victim profile, would it?" she asked suspiciously, "How it happens to resemble me a bit?"
He nodded wordlessly. There was no use in lying to her. Somehow, she always found out.
"Well, you shouldn't worry..." she admonished as she continued with her work on his still-tense shoulders, "I know how to protect myself. I'm a big girl, if you didn't notice..."
Nick sighed tiredly, letting go of some of the worry that had plagued him all night, then grinned as he claimed her lips with his own. His arms wrapped around her body as he carefully pulled himself up to eye-level with Natalie.
"Oh, I've noticed..." he whispered seductively, remembering the first time he'd uttered those words to her, "I've noticed."
"Then do something about it..."
And he did.