**********
"Nick! I'm back!" Alex Moreau called, as she opened the door to the Boston house.
She would have been back sooner, but for some reason, moving on auto pilot, had travelled half way to the old house on Angel Island. Remembering the droves of construction workers travelling over to the island by ferry every day had made her realise her mistake. But she had been feeling so relaxed after her visit with Tanya, that she had simply switched off.
She had made good time to Boston, though.
She just hoped that no one discovered her little side trip.
Especially if that 'someone' was a certain ex SEAL named Nick Boyle.
'That man would love nothing more than to tease me mercilessly,' she thought with a grimace. 'Talking of Mr Boyle, where is he?'
Alex looked around the spacious hallway she was in.
With it's beautiful carpets, wood panelling, tapestries and other artefacts, a casual observer could be forgiven for thinking it similar to the Angel Island house.
But Alex only had to look at the narrow stairs, the colouring of her surroundings, the artefacts that weren't the same objects she was accustomed to looking at every time she arrived home, to realise that this wasn't the building she had spent some of her happiest years living in.
With a sigh, she decided to dump her luggage, and then proceed to find Nick. She moved up the narrow stairs to the room she had been assigned, and then tried to remember the way to the Boston house library.
The house may have been smaller than the mansion on Angel Island, but it was by no means any less of a maze.
'I wouldn't be suprised if they had secret passages,' she mused to herself.
She finally managed to locate the library, pushing open the heavy door and looking in --- but Nick was no where to be seen.
She left, locating the Control room, which was situated in a secluded part of the house, as opposed to hidden from view behind a hologram, like the S.F house' control centre.
'Like it *was,*' Alex mentally censored herself.
She turned the corner, entering the Control room.......and stopped suddenly at the sight in front of her.
Nick was sprawled on the floor, flat on his back. His lower half was mostly obscured by the control panel he was lying under. He had some sort of tool in his right hand, but he wasn't working. In fact, he appeared to be asleep.
After the initial shock of fearing him unconscious after an accident or attack, Alex frowned. Nick had been trying to keep the house running for weeks now, first when Derek was feared dead, and then later, while he had been recuperating in hospital. When Derek was released, Nick had made a small show of giving Derek his Precept's ring back, citing that he was more than relieved to have his old job back, though Alex and Rachel had both sung his praises about the job he'd done so far as acting Precept. She'd thought now that Derek had resumed his role as leader of the group, that Nick would be taking some time off, as she and Rachel had done. But judging from the state of her younger colleague, that wasn't the case.
He'd been complaining off and on that the security of this house was more than lacking, and Alex concluded that he must have been trying to upgrade it or something.
She sighed at the stubborn ex SEAL, even though he was oblivious. She briefly wondered if she should try and move him, after all, the floor wasn't the most comfortable place to nap, but quickly dismissed that idea. There was no way she would be able to shift him, and he would most likely wake up anyway.
She thought about leaving him there, and allowing him to wake naturally, but decided that he would probably wake so stiff and sore that he wouldn't be *able* to move.
She crept up to his sleeping form, and crouched down next to him. He looked peaceful lying there, she decided. The hardships of his life and the traumas of the past year were gone from his face, leaving him seemingly untouched, and Alex wished fervently that it were true.
She put a hand on his shoulder and gently shook it.
"Nick," she whispered softly. "Honey, wake up."
Instead of waking immediately like he would normally do due to his lightning quick reflexes, he groaned softly in his sleep before repositioning himself, a testament to his exhaustion.
She shook a little harder, and thought she heard him mumble something, likely unconsciously. She couldn't make it out clearly, but it sounded like a negative. Alex found herself hoping that he wasn't being plagued by nightmares.
Nick tended to bury a lot of what bothered him, and the only way for it to come out, was his subconscious........at least that's what Rachel had told Alex.
This gave him nightmares. It happened to everyone, but because of his tendency to -- what was the word Rachel used? -- oh yes, internalise his feelings, it happened to him a lot more.
He was under the impression that no one was aware of this, but Alex was sensitive to certain things, and she'd also heard him wandering the castle late at night. He would shrug off her worry, answering her queries as to how he was feeling with his standard reply, "I'm fine."
But his eyes said differently.
She gently stroked his forehead, trying once more to wake him up.
This time she succeeded, and he came awake with a slight gasp. His eyes hadn't focused, and he wasn't totally aware. He immediately reached for his gun, which lay on the floor underneath the
console he was beneath.
Alex jumped back, her hands held up to show that she wasn't a threat.
"Alex?" he asked, somewhat blearily.
"Hey, sleepyhead. Did you get lost, 'cause this isn't your bedroom."
She was trying to be light, hoping to draw him into a friendly conversation, and hopefully discover what was bothering him. And maybe stop her worrying, too.
"Ha ha, Alex. Very funny. Of course I didn't. Even that lumpy old couch bed you made me sleep on that time wasn't as bad as this floor."
"What couch bed?"
"You know, during that investigation into the ghost who didn't like clothes, and went around that little church flashing his --"
"Yes Nick! I remember. The hotel only had one room, a single. You gave me the bed and used the torture device they named a couch bed. And you moaned, the *entire* time."
"I did not," Nick contradicted. He put his gun on the console above him and groaned as he stood, more than a little stiff from lying on the floor. Alex laughed, then winced in sympathy as she heard several joints pop, offering him a hand as he tried to unbend.
He took the offered help, gently lowering himself into the chair next to the console. "Thanks."
Alex chuckled again, taking a chair from another station, and moving it opposite him. "Don't mention it. What are you trying to do, anyway?"
He slumped low in his chair. "Well, I was trying to update the system. The security in this place is bad. But unfortunately, it looks as if the whole system might need a complete overhaul."
He grimaced. "I suppose I'll be the one to sort that out."
He sounded so tired that Alex couldn't help but try and relieve it.
She leaned forward slightly. "Nick, you know you're my friend. And you're always there for me. You've forgiven me many, many things," she closed her eyes, thinking of her vampyric attempts on his life.
Opening them, she continued. "I had hoped, that.........you'd be able to confide in me." She couldn't censor the hopeful look she sent him.
Nick smiled to himself. He had been wondering how long it would take before someone tried some sort on 'intervention.' His own personal guess for that someone had been Rachel, but Alex had been a close second.
"Alex, I appreciate you asking, and caring. But I'm just......I don't know, a little burnt out. I mean, after Jimmy, and Kristen, and Horton......as well as that whole thing with Karen coming back and killing Mike, followed by thinking Derek was dead.......I'm just a little tired. It feels like we faced some kind of terrible danger at least once a week, and it wears a person down."
He didn't tell her about the feelings he'd been experiencing.......he wouldn't tell anyone, not until he could substantiate them.
Alex nodded, smiling a little at her accomplishment. She had gotten him to admit to his exhaustion. But what to do about it?
Nick gave a half smile in answer, pleased that she was leaving it at that........at least for now.
He rose, still somewhat sore from his spell on the floor.
"I'm gonna hit the sack early. I'll see you tomorrow, then?"
He waited for her answering nod before picking up his weapon and turning to leave.
"Nick?" she called out.
"Yeah, Al'?"
She grinned. "Your bedroom is the other way."
He glanced in the direction he was going. "Oh. I think the kitchen is this way......maybe my body is trying to tell me something. I think I'll grab something to eat, and then head to bed. Night."
"Good night. Sweet dreams," she called after him, frowning slightly. Something else was definitely on his mind.......and she was going to find out what it was. After she got a good nights sleep, that was. Even though it was still quite early, she had been travelling all day, and couldn't stop the yawn that escaped her. She rose and left the control room, knowing that Nick would lock up and shut the house down for the night.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
##As the lights went out in the house, the creature stirred.
Soon, it thought.......Soon.......#####
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Nick! I'm back!" Alex Moreau called, as she opened the door to the Boston house.
She would have been back sooner, but for some reason, moving on auto pilot, had travelled half way to the old house on Angel Island. Remembering the droves of construction workers travelling over to the island by ferry every day had made her realise her mistake. But she had been feeling so relaxed after her visit with Tanya, that she had simply switched off.
She had made good time to Boston, though.
She just hoped that no one discovered her little side trip.
Especially if that 'someone' was a certain ex SEAL named Nick Boyle.
'That man would love nothing more than to tease me mercilessly,' she thought with a grimace. 'Talking of Mr Boyle, where is he?'
Alex looked around the spacious hallway she was in.
With it's beautiful carpets, wood panelling, tapestries and other artefacts, a casual observer could be forgiven for thinking it similar to the Angel Island house.
But Alex only had to look at the narrow stairs, the colouring of her surroundings, the artefacts that weren't the same objects she was accustomed to looking at every time she arrived home, to realise that this wasn't the building she had spent some of her happiest years living in.
With a sigh, she decided to dump her luggage, and then proceed to find Nick. She moved up the narrow stairs to the room she had been assigned, and then tried to remember the way to the Boston house library.
The house may have been smaller than the mansion on Angel Island, but it was by no means any less of a maze.
'I wouldn't be suprised if they had secret passages,' she mused to herself.
She finally managed to locate the library, pushing open the heavy door and looking in --- but Nick was no where to be seen.
She left, locating the Control room, which was situated in a secluded part of the house, as opposed to hidden from view behind a hologram, like the S.F house' control centre.
'Like it *was,*' Alex mentally censored herself.
She turned the corner, entering the Control room.......and stopped suddenly at the sight in front of her.
Nick was sprawled on the floor, flat on his back. His lower half was mostly obscured by the control panel he was lying under. He had some sort of tool in his right hand, but he wasn't working. In fact, he appeared to be asleep.
After the initial shock of fearing him unconscious after an accident or attack, Alex frowned. Nick had been trying to keep the house running for weeks now, first when Derek was feared dead, and then later, while he had been recuperating in hospital. When Derek was released, Nick had made a small show of giving Derek his Precept's ring back, citing that he was more than relieved to have his old job back, though Alex and Rachel had both sung his praises about the job he'd done so far as acting Precept. She'd thought now that Derek had resumed his role as leader of the group, that Nick would be taking some time off, as she and Rachel had done. But judging from the state of her younger colleague, that wasn't the case.
He'd been complaining off and on that the security of this house was more than lacking, and Alex concluded that he must have been trying to upgrade it or something.
She sighed at the stubborn ex SEAL, even though he was oblivious. She briefly wondered if she should try and move him, after all, the floor wasn't the most comfortable place to nap, but quickly dismissed that idea. There was no way she would be able to shift him, and he would most likely wake up anyway.
She thought about leaving him there, and allowing him to wake naturally, but decided that he would probably wake so stiff and sore that he wouldn't be *able* to move.
She crept up to his sleeping form, and crouched down next to him. He looked peaceful lying there, she decided. The hardships of his life and the traumas of the past year were gone from his face, leaving him seemingly untouched, and Alex wished fervently that it were true.
She put a hand on his shoulder and gently shook it.
"Nick," she whispered softly. "Honey, wake up."
Instead of waking immediately like he would normally do due to his lightning quick reflexes, he groaned softly in his sleep before repositioning himself, a testament to his exhaustion.
She shook a little harder, and thought she heard him mumble something, likely unconsciously. She couldn't make it out clearly, but it sounded like a negative. Alex found herself hoping that he wasn't being plagued by nightmares.
Nick tended to bury a lot of what bothered him, and the only way for it to come out, was his subconscious........at least that's what Rachel had told Alex.
This gave him nightmares. It happened to everyone, but because of his tendency to -- what was the word Rachel used? -- oh yes, internalise his feelings, it happened to him a lot more.
He was under the impression that no one was aware of this, but Alex was sensitive to certain things, and she'd also heard him wandering the castle late at night. He would shrug off her worry, answering her queries as to how he was feeling with his standard reply, "I'm fine."
But his eyes said differently.
She gently stroked his forehead, trying once more to wake him up.
This time she succeeded, and he came awake with a slight gasp. His eyes hadn't focused, and he wasn't totally aware. He immediately reached for his gun, which lay on the floor underneath the
console he was beneath.
Alex jumped back, her hands held up to show that she wasn't a threat.
"Alex?" he asked, somewhat blearily.
"Hey, sleepyhead. Did you get lost, 'cause this isn't your bedroom."
She was trying to be light, hoping to draw him into a friendly conversation, and hopefully discover what was bothering him. And maybe stop her worrying, too.
"Ha ha, Alex. Very funny. Of course I didn't. Even that lumpy old couch bed you made me sleep on that time wasn't as bad as this floor."
"What couch bed?"
"You know, during that investigation into the ghost who didn't like clothes, and went around that little church flashing his --"
"Yes Nick! I remember. The hotel only had one room, a single. You gave me the bed and used the torture device they named a couch bed. And you moaned, the *entire* time."
"I did not," Nick contradicted. He put his gun on the console above him and groaned as he stood, more than a little stiff from lying on the floor. Alex laughed, then winced in sympathy as she heard several joints pop, offering him a hand as he tried to unbend.
He took the offered help, gently lowering himself into the chair next to the console. "Thanks."
Alex chuckled again, taking a chair from another station, and moving it opposite him. "Don't mention it. What are you trying to do, anyway?"
He slumped low in his chair. "Well, I was trying to update the system. The security in this place is bad. But unfortunately, it looks as if the whole system might need a complete overhaul."
He grimaced. "I suppose I'll be the one to sort that out."
He sounded so tired that Alex couldn't help but try and relieve it.
She leaned forward slightly. "Nick, you know you're my friend. And you're always there for me. You've forgiven me many, many things," she closed her eyes, thinking of her vampyric attempts on his life.
Opening them, she continued. "I had hoped, that.........you'd be able to confide in me." She couldn't censor the hopeful look she sent him.
Nick smiled to himself. He had been wondering how long it would take before someone tried some sort on 'intervention.' His own personal guess for that someone had been Rachel, but Alex had been a close second.
"Alex, I appreciate you asking, and caring. But I'm just......I don't know, a little burnt out. I mean, after Jimmy, and Kristen, and Horton......as well as that whole thing with Karen coming back and killing Mike, followed by thinking Derek was dead.......I'm just a little tired. It feels like we faced some kind of terrible danger at least once a week, and it wears a person down."
He didn't tell her about the feelings he'd been experiencing.......he wouldn't tell anyone, not until he could substantiate them.
Alex nodded, smiling a little at her accomplishment. She had gotten him to admit to his exhaustion. But what to do about it?
Nick gave a half smile in answer, pleased that she was leaving it at that........at least for now.
He rose, still somewhat sore from his spell on the floor.
"I'm gonna hit the sack early. I'll see you tomorrow, then?"
He waited for her answering nod before picking up his weapon and turning to leave.
"Nick?" she called out.
"Yeah, Al'?"
She grinned. "Your bedroom is the other way."
He glanced in the direction he was going. "Oh. I think the kitchen is this way......maybe my body is trying to tell me something. I think I'll grab something to eat, and then head to bed. Night."
"Good night. Sweet dreams," she called after him, frowning slightly. Something else was definitely on his mind.......and she was going to find out what it was. After she got a good nights sleep, that was. Even though it was still quite early, she had been travelling all day, and couldn't stop the yawn that escaped her. She rose and left the control room, knowing that Nick would lock up and shut the house down for the night.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
##As the lights went out in the house, the creature stirred.
Soon, it thought.......Soon.......#####
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
