Blood Bonds Part II
A Forever Knight story by Merrie Thomas
Disclaimer: All characters you're familiar with don't belong to me. Those
that you aren't, do.
Characters: Lacroix, Nick, Natalie, Tracy, Erin Gabriel OFC,
Summary: Someone or something is after Lacroix, and it is up to Nick and
Nat to find out who it is and how to stop them.
Author's Note: Be kind, this is only my second attempt at Forever Knight
fanfic. This takes place in the third season after Ashes to Ashes. Also,
'...' indicates the character is thinking to themself.
Rating: This story is rated PG-13
Chapter Two
Tracy Vetter just stared at the phone in shock. 'Was it possible? Could Natalie know about vampires?' That was what she had assumed Natalie had meant when she said that she and Nick had a 'special' friend that needed help. 'Why would they come here? Did she tell Nick? Or did he tell her?' These were but a few of the many questions running through Tracy's head as she sat down to wait for her company, and hopefully some answers.
Erin Gabriel couldn't help it, she was excited. In fact, she was more than excited. She had been waiting so long for this, and now the day was finally here. She was going to meet the Nightcrawler! The one man to whom she could share her deepest, darkest secrets, and she was going to spend the evening with him at one of the city's hottest dance clubs, The Raven. She had visited it the pervious night in the hopes of catching sight of the Nightcrawler himself, or Mr. Lucien Lacroix as he was otherwise named. It had taken her a lot of time and effort to discover that little fact. She sighed for a moment, slightly fanning herself. 'Lucien. What a name!'Anyway, she had gone to the club to meet with him, face to face, only to be turned down by a bartender of all people! She spluttered a bit and was about to tell him where to stick it when he had informed her that Mr. Lacroix, 'Lucien, his name is Lucien,' would meet with her privately here at the club at sunset. At first, she couldn't believe what she was hearing! He wanted to meet her! In private! It was more than she could hope for. Of course, she had hastily agreed and rushed home, eager for the next evening to arrive. As it turned out, she found that she didn't have the patience to wait until sunset, so she came a little early. She was sure Lucien wouldn't mind. After all, he had asked to meet with her. Reassuring herself of this fact, she made her way to the Raven a little before sunset. Not so much as to make her seem desperate, but just enough to alleviate her impatience. She had parked a few blocks down, 'what kind of nightclub has no parking on the street in front of it?' and made her way on foot, making sure to check herself over to make sure she still looked ok. She brushed a hand over her shoulder-length reddish brown hair and smiled over her choice of outfit for the evening, a dark burgundy-colored, form-fitting, ankle-length velvet dress with a daring neckline and a long slit for a good glimpse of a bit of leg to peek through. She hoped Lucien would like it. The guys at the hotel she was staying at had certainly made their preference known as she left. Even so, she still felt a little uneasy. She was not acting like herself. 'Who am I kidding?' she asked herself. 'This isn't me. I would never even own a dress like this let alone wear it. What was I thinking? I have to go change. I can't meet Lucien like this, what would he think of me?' She was just about to turn around and head back to her car when she hesitated. She looked to the front of the Raven, and noticed the door was unlocked. She then looked to the street and noticed a large blue-green old Cadillac parked in front. Walking over to this curiosity, she noticed something else. Someone had left the trunk open. She was about to put her hands on top of it to close it when she was pushed out of the way by a very strong force. "Move!" Someone or something shouted at her. She jumped at the forcefulness in the voice. She blinked a couple of times to clear her mind of the strange vision that lay before her. A handsome blond haired man was quickly laying another man into the trunk.
"Hey! What's going on? What are you doing to that man?!" She moved over to get a better glimpse of the two men. She looked at the man in the trunk and gasped in recognition. "Lucien! Where are you taking him? If you don't let him go right this instant I am going to call the police!" The man turned to look at her, and damned if he didn't seem to be smoking just a little bit. And his eyes, yellow, animal eyes. "I-I..." she paused a bit, more than a little frightened. She blinked a couple of times to clear her head. "You are not taking him! I know him and I've seen your face! I know what this is! This is kidnaping and when the police get done with you, you are going to be in big trouble! Now, you let him go and maybe they will go easier on you!"
The man grunted, "I am the police, and I don't have time for this." he said, casting a glance toward the sky. He then turned to look at her, his eyes locking on hers. Listen to me very carefully. This never happened. Erin couldn't help but be a bit entranced by the voice. She almost found herself believing that it had all been her imagination. Almost.
"I-I-this never..no! This is happing! And none of your little tricks is going to make me forget that!" She turned toward the street. "Police! Police! Help me!" While she was turned however, Nick got into the trunk with Lacroix and closed the lid. 'Let Natalie deal with her.' he thought.
Natalie raced outside, coming upon the scene. She looked over at the nearly scantily dressed young woman nearly screaming her lungs out for the police outside, alternatingly banging on the trunk of the Caddy. 'Uh-oh. Natalie thought. This could be trouble.' She walked out under the overhang, making sure to lock the Raven's door as she went. She then turned and slowly made her way to the woman as to not frighten her further. "Miss?" she called quietly. The woman turned to her in a flash.
"Oh! You must help me! This man has kidnaped Lucien! He has him in the trunk of his car! I don't know where he went, I think he's in the trunk with him!"
"Lucien?" Natalie whispered to herself. 'Oh no, this is going to cause problems.' "Now, I know how this going to sound, but you are going to have to trust me on this. Lucien is fine. Well, actually he is very sick and he needs our help immediately. We were going to take him to the hospital right now."
"In the trunk?" Erin asked, not believing a word of it. "You're in on this too, aren't you? Where are you taking him?!"
"Hold on a minute, I'm not a part of anything!" She put up her hands to emphasize this point and made her way to the trunk of the Caddy. "Nick?" she murmured under her breath. "Can you hear me?" She then heard a quiet thump on the roof of the trunk. She took that as a 'yes.' "What do you want to do about this? Should we take her with us? I assumed you tried the 'whammy' on her. It must have been unsuccessful or we wouldn't be in this situation. So, do I bring her with us? She's going to cause major problems unless we convince her that you aren't kidnaping Lacroix. Do you agree?" Natalie had to wait a moment, but at last heard a hesitant single knock on the lid of the hood. Natalie sighed. "Alright. I hope we know what we're doing." She turned to the woman, dreading what she was about to do. "Now I want you to listen to me very carefully, I promise I'll explain everything if you simply come with me. Now, I know what you're thinking, but don't worry, I'll even make sure to drive through downtown if that will make you feel safer."
"You say you don't mean to hurt Lucien, that you're taking him to a hospital. Then why do you have him in the trunk?" Erin asked, still unbelieving.
Natalie sighed. "Well, that will take a bit of time to explain, but you see, Lucien is very, very ill and we must help him right away. Now, you can either come with us and help us, he could very well die. Now what's it going to be?" Natalie made her way to the Caddy, hoping for the best.
Erin didn't know what to think. This woman's statements seemed convincing enough, but what about what she had seen? What about that man who had said he was a cop? Erin hadn't exactly seen where he had gone, but he must have gotten into the trunk because she hadn't seen him leave. But why did he do that? She didn't like it, but what choice did she have? If she didn't go with them now, what's to say they won't just kill Lucien later? Erin took a deep breath and made her way to the car, offering up a small prayer for hers and Lucien's safety from these people.
They drove in silence through town, Erin starting to believe a bit of what she had been told. "Um...I never did catch your name, Miss...?" Natalie prompted.
Erin cast her a look, but decided to give in. "My name is Erin. Erin Gabriel. And you are?" Erin prompted.
"Nice to meet you Miss Gabriel. My name is Dr. Natalie Lambert, and the gentleman you met earlier is Det. Nick Knight. Well, what I wanted to talk to you about is that I haven't been completely honest with you."
"What-what do you mean?" Erin asked, casting a worried glance toward the door.
"We aren't going to the hospital right away. Now don't worry, we're going to a friend's. She's a cop, Det. Tracy Vetter. Have you heard that name before? Her father is the police commissioner. In fact, we're there." Natalie parked the Caddy in front of Tracy's house and got out before Erin could comment. She then looked around and noticed the darkening sky. She went to the trunk and unlocked it. "Nick? You can come out now, we're here and the sun has set. How is he?" Natalie asked, casting a glance toward Lacroix's still unconscious form.
"I don't know, Nat. He should be awake by now. Something is wrong. What happened to the girl?" Nick asked, getting out of the trunk with a glance towards the sky. When he was certain that the setting sun would not pose a threat, he turned to pick up Lacroix.
"I assume you're talking about me?" Erin asked, having gotten out of the car in time to hear their conversation. "I just want to say that you'd better have some pretty damn good explanations to back up this little 'tale' of yours or I am going to the police." At Nick's look she added, "the real police."
"If I told you that Lacroix here was my father, would that change your opinion any of what you have seen today?" Nick asked with a sidelong glance at Natalie. "Your father? Yeah right. Unless he had you when he was a teenager there is no way that he can be your father." Erin said with a look of 'what else can these people make up?'
Nick sighed. "He's my foster father. I have known him nearly all of my life and now it's time we help him." He then walked to Tracy's front doorstep, carrying Lacroix's limp form in his arms. Natalie shook her head and closed the trunk behind him and also made her way toward's Tracy's apartment.
"Are you coming?" she asked, looking over her shoulder at Erin.
"Yeah, I'm coming. I don't like it, but I'm coming."
Nick waited a moment at Tracy's front door, hoping that he was doing the right thing in bringing Lacroix here. He knew that once Tracy saw the two of them together, she would put two and two together and figure out what he really was. She was an excellent detective, and he was rather surprised that he had been able to keep his secret from her for so long. He sighed, and pressed forward, shifting Lacroix's weight in his arms so he would be able to knock on the door. "Tracy? It's Nick. Open the door." He waited as he heard Tracy's rushing footsteps. She was certainly curious as to what was going on. Nick suspected she already had a pretty good idea, and if she didn't, she would have one now. Tracy opened the door and gave a small gasp as she laid her eyes upon who Nick had in his arms.
"Nick? That's...do you know who that is?" Tracy asked, her voice wavering just a bit.
"Yes Tracy. I know who or rather what he is, but right now he's in a lot of trouble and he needs your help. Can you do that?" At Tracy's nod, Nick went through her door into her living room. He then laid Lacroix down on her couch and put a hand to his master's head. 'Wake up, Lacroix. Don't leave me.' Nick thought with a rather worried look on his face. 'Why isn't he waking up?'
A/N: Thank you for all the kind reviews!! The next chapter will be up soon!!!
Chapter Two
Tracy Vetter just stared at the phone in shock. 'Was it possible? Could Natalie know about vampires?' That was what she had assumed Natalie had meant when she said that she and Nick had a 'special' friend that needed help. 'Why would they come here? Did she tell Nick? Or did he tell her?' These were but a few of the many questions running through Tracy's head as she sat down to wait for her company, and hopefully some answers.
Erin Gabriel couldn't help it, she was excited. In fact, she was more than excited. She had been waiting so long for this, and now the day was finally here. She was going to meet the Nightcrawler! The one man to whom she could share her deepest, darkest secrets, and she was going to spend the evening with him at one of the city's hottest dance clubs, The Raven. She had visited it the pervious night in the hopes of catching sight of the Nightcrawler himself, or Mr. Lucien Lacroix as he was otherwise named. It had taken her a lot of time and effort to discover that little fact. She sighed for a moment, slightly fanning herself. 'Lucien. What a name!'Anyway, she had gone to the club to meet with him, face to face, only to be turned down by a bartender of all people! She spluttered a bit and was about to tell him where to stick it when he had informed her that Mr. Lacroix, 'Lucien, his name is Lucien,' would meet with her privately here at the club at sunset. At first, she couldn't believe what she was hearing! He wanted to meet her! In private! It was more than she could hope for. Of course, she had hastily agreed and rushed home, eager for the next evening to arrive. As it turned out, she found that she didn't have the patience to wait until sunset, so she came a little early. She was sure Lucien wouldn't mind. After all, he had asked to meet with her. Reassuring herself of this fact, she made her way to the Raven a little before sunset. Not so much as to make her seem desperate, but just enough to alleviate her impatience. She had parked a few blocks down, 'what kind of nightclub has no parking on the street in front of it?' and made her way on foot, making sure to check herself over to make sure she still looked ok. She brushed a hand over her shoulder-length reddish brown hair and smiled over her choice of outfit for the evening, a dark burgundy-colored, form-fitting, ankle-length velvet dress with a daring neckline and a long slit for a good glimpse of a bit of leg to peek through. She hoped Lucien would like it. The guys at the hotel she was staying at had certainly made their preference known as she left. Even so, she still felt a little uneasy. She was not acting like herself. 'Who am I kidding?' she asked herself. 'This isn't me. I would never even own a dress like this let alone wear it. What was I thinking? I have to go change. I can't meet Lucien like this, what would he think of me?' She was just about to turn around and head back to her car when she hesitated. She looked to the front of the Raven, and noticed the door was unlocked. She then looked to the street and noticed a large blue-green old Cadillac parked in front. Walking over to this curiosity, she noticed something else. Someone had left the trunk open. She was about to put her hands on top of it to close it when she was pushed out of the way by a very strong force. "Move!" Someone or something shouted at her. She jumped at the forcefulness in the voice. She blinked a couple of times to clear her mind of the strange vision that lay before her. A handsome blond haired man was quickly laying another man into the trunk.
"Hey! What's going on? What are you doing to that man?!" She moved over to get a better glimpse of the two men. She looked at the man in the trunk and gasped in recognition. "Lucien! Where are you taking him? If you don't let him go right this instant I am going to call the police!" The man turned to look at her, and damned if he didn't seem to be smoking just a little bit. And his eyes, yellow, animal eyes. "I-I..." she paused a bit, more than a little frightened. She blinked a couple of times to clear her head. "You are not taking him! I know him and I've seen your face! I know what this is! This is kidnaping and when the police get done with you, you are going to be in big trouble! Now, you let him go and maybe they will go easier on you!"
The man grunted, "I am the police, and I don't have time for this." he said, casting a glance toward the sky. He then turned to look at her, his eyes locking on hers. Listen to me very carefully. This never happened. Erin couldn't help but be a bit entranced by the voice. She almost found herself believing that it had all been her imagination. Almost.
"I-I-this never..no! This is happing! And none of your little tricks is going to make me forget that!" She turned toward the street. "Police! Police! Help me!" While she was turned however, Nick got into the trunk with Lacroix and closed the lid. 'Let Natalie deal with her.' he thought.
Natalie raced outside, coming upon the scene. She looked over at the nearly scantily dressed young woman nearly screaming her lungs out for the police outside, alternatingly banging on the trunk of the Caddy. 'Uh-oh. Natalie thought. This could be trouble.' She walked out under the overhang, making sure to lock the Raven's door as she went. She then turned and slowly made her way to the woman as to not frighten her further. "Miss?" she called quietly. The woman turned to her in a flash.
"Oh! You must help me! This man has kidnaped Lucien! He has him in the trunk of his car! I don't know where he went, I think he's in the trunk with him!"
"Lucien?" Natalie whispered to herself. 'Oh no, this is going to cause problems.' "Now, I know how this going to sound, but you are going to have to trust me on this. Lucien is fine. Well, actually he is very sick and he needs our help immediately. We were going to take him to the hospital right now."
"In the trunk?" Erin asked, not believing a word of it. "You're in on this too, aren't you? Where are you taking him?!"
"Hold on a minute, I'm not a part of anything!" She put up her hands to emphasize this point and made her way to the trunk of the Caddy. "Nick?" she murmured under her breath. "Can you hear me?" She then heard a quiet thump on the roof of the trunk. She took that as a 'yes.' "What do you want to do about this? Should we take her with us? I assumed you tried the 'whammy' on her. It must have been unsuccessful or we wouldn't be in this situation. So, do I bring her with us? She's going to cause major problems unless we convince her that you aren't kidnaping Lacroix. Do you agree?" Natalie had to wait a moment, but at last heard a hesitant single knock on the lid of the hood. Natalie sighed. "Alright. I hope we know what we're doing." She turned to the woman, dreading what she was about to do. "Now I want you to listen to me very carefully, I promise I'll explain everything if you simply come with me. Now, I know what you're thinking, but don't worry, I'll even make sure to drive through downtown if that will make you feel safer."
"You say you don't mean to hurt Lucien, that you're taking him to a hospital. Then why do you have him in the trunk?" Erin asked, still unbelieving.
Natalie sighed. "Well, that will take a bit of time to explain, but you see, Lucien is very, very ill and we must help him right away. Now, you can either come with us and help us, he could very well die. Now what's it going to be?" Natalie made her way to the Caddy, hoping for the best.
Erin didn't know what to think. This woman's statements seemed convincing enough, but what about what she had seen? What about that man who had said he was a cop? Erin hadn't exactly seen where he had gone, but he must have gotten into the trunk because she hadn't seen him leave. But why did he do that? She didn't like it, but what choice did she have? If she didn't go with them now, what's to say they won't just kill Lucien later? Erin took a deep breath and made her way to the car, offering up a small prayer for hers and Lucien's safety from these people.
They drove in silence through town, Erin starting to believe a bit of what she had been told. "Um...I never did catch your name, Miss...?" Natalie prompted.
Erin cast her a look, but decided to give in. "My name is Erin. Erin Gabriel. And you are?" Erin prompted.
"Nice to meet you Miss Gabriel. My name is Dr. Natalie Lambert, and the gentleman you met earlier is Det. Nick Knight. Well, what I wanted to talk to you about is that I haven't been completely honest with you."
"What-what do you mean?" Erin asked, casting a worried glance toward the door.
"We aren't going to the hospital right away. Now don't worry, we're going to a friend's. She's a cop, Det. Tracy Vetter. Have you heard that name before? Her father is the police commissioner. In fact, we're there." Natalie parked the Caddy in front of Tracy's house and got out before Erin could comment. She then looked around and noticed the darkening sky. She went to the trunk and unlocked it. "Nick? You can come out now, we're here and the sun has set. How is he?" Natalie asked, casting a glance toward Lacroix's still unconscious form.
"I don't know, Nat. He should be awake by now. Something is wrong. What happened to the girl?" Nick asked, getting out of the trunk with a glance towards the sky. When he was certain that the setting sun would not pose a threat, he turned to pick up Lacroix.
"I assume you're talking about me?" Erin asked, having gotten out of the car in time to hear their conversation. "I just want to say that you'd better have some pretty damn good explanations to back up this little 'tale' of yours or I am going to the police." At Nick's look she added, "the real police."
"If I told you that Lacroix here was my father, would that change your opinion any of what you have seen today?" Nick asked with a sidelong glance at Natalie. "Your father? Yeah right. Unless he had you when he was a teenager there is no way that he can be your father." Erin said with a look of 'what else can these people make up?'
Nick sighed. "He's my foster father. I have known him nearly all of my life and now it's time we help him." He then walked to Tracy's front doorstep, carrying Lacroix's limp form in his arms. Natalie shook her head and closed the trunk behind him and also made her way toward's Tracy's apartment.
"Are you coming?" she asked, looking over her shoulder at Erin.
"Yeah, I'm coming. I don't like it, but I'm coming."
Nick waited a moment at Tracy's front door, hoping that he was doing the right thing in bringing Lacroix here. He knew that once Tracy saw the two of them together, she would put two and two together and figure out what he really was. She was an excellent detective, and he was rather surprised that he had been able to keep his secret from her for so long. He sighed, and pressed forward, shifting Lacroix's weight in his arms so he would be able to knock on the door. "Tracy? It's Nick. Open the door." He waited as he heard Tracy's rushing footsteps. She was certainly curious as to what was going on. Nick suspected she already had a pretty good idea, and if she didn't, she would have one now. Tracy opened the door and gave a small gasp as she laid her eyes upon who Nick had in his arms.
"Nick? That's...do you know who that is?" Tracy asked, her voice wavering just a bit.
"Yes Tracy. I know who or rather what he is, but right now he's in a lot of trouble and he needs your help. Can you do that?" At Tracy's nod, Nick went through her door into her living room. He then laid Lacroix down on her couch and put a hand to his master's head. 'Wake up, Lacroix. Don't leave me.' Nick thought with a rather worried look on his face. 'Why isn't he waking up?'
A/N: Thank you for all the kind reviews!! The next chapter will be up soon!!!