Author: The Wanlorn
Title: A World in a Grain of Sand 25/?
Summary: This is a sequel to "Every New Beginning…"
Rating: PG13
Spoilers: I honestly don't know, so beware.
Distribution: Ask, and ye shall receive. Take without permission, then screw the Law of Three, I will cures you with the nefarious curse of…da da dum…WRITER'S BLOCK!!!! BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!
Disclaimer: Same as all of the last times, so far.
Thank Yous: Thanks to Carla, my beta. Thanks to Mike and April, who are the only people giving me good reviews.
Author's Note: Ugh, shoot me now, my life sucks. Have fun reading this.
Chapter Twenty-Five
The phone began to ring as Nick stepped out of the shower. It was his cell phone in his pants. While he wrapped a towel around his waist, he grabbed it and flipped it open.
"Detective Knight." He didn't have a shift tonight, at least, he thought he didn't. And hadn't he turned his phone off?
"Knight!" Reese's voice wasn't quite panicked, but certainly worried. "The bastard killed the guard and escaped. We think-"
"Gee, thanks Captain," Nick interrupted dryly. "You're a bit late with the warning, though."
There was a moment of shocked silence on the other end. "Did he get into the loft? Is Natalie okay? Did you arrest him?"
"Yes, yes, and you could say that."
"Explain that." Nick could tell that Reese was greatly relieved, much of the tension gone from his voice.
"Well, Mr. Belasarius is no longer among the living. You might want to send the Coroner's Wagon over."
There was a long silence on the other end of the line. Nick walked back to the bedroom, where Natalie was once more reading her magazine, and pulled on a pair of clean boxers and jeans. He could feel her appraising eyes on him as he got dressed, waiting for Reese to speak again.
"Well." The captain's voice was finally heard. "I can't say that I'm sorry, or that I wish you hadn't shot him. But department policy… What if you take another week or so of vacation time. At least until the IA gets done with their investigation that's sure to come."
"Sure, Captain." Nick's voice was pleasant, but he was growling angrily inside.
"Knight. *I* know you had every right to shoot the bastard. But you know the IA…"
"They're just doing their jobs." Right. Wannabe cops. Failed out of the Academy, so they took their revenge on those who made it. Sneaky little conniving bastards.
"Yeah, well… Good work, Knight."
As Nick hung up his cell phone, he began to curse in French. Natalie peered at him from above her magazine. "What's wrong?"
"Reese," Nick growled. "He's sending people to pick up the body."
"And why is that a bad thing?" She knew there would be more to the story.
"Oh, no, it's not that." Nick flopped down on the bed beside her. "When a civilian shoots a trespasser who's threatening them, the civilian's all in the clear. But if it's a cop, the IA's *all* over the cop." Normally, he would be relatively calm, almost indifferent to an IA investigation. *But, for Christ's sake, I just got engaged! * he thought moodily. Was he never allowed a brief bit of happiness? Was that just too much to ask for?
"Ah." Natalie snuggled into his arms for the brief moment that he remained next to her. But he was soon up and moving towards the door.
"Stay up here, Nat, okay?"
With a frustrated sigh, she nodded. He had made her *promise* that she was going to stay upstairs until everything was taken care of. And he had been so vehement about it, that she didn't argue much. Truthfully, she was glad that she had an excuse to hide in the bedroom. The last thing she wanted was to see… was to see *his* body in her home. It was bad enough just thinking about it. She stifled a shiver, returning to her magazine.
Satisfied that she wasn't going to budge, Nick went out onto the catwalk and down the stairs. The sight of the main living floor absolutely astounded him.
All of the bodies were gone, save one - Kane's. The blood was cleaned, save for a *very* realistic-looking stain around the remaining body. There was even spatter in what appeared to be the correct pattern. The ash was gone, and the room looked like there had been a struggle.
"Where are the bodies?"
"In another warehouse, a few ways down." Jander's reply was calm as he surveyed the room.
"And the removal of the blood will stand up to inspection?"
Jander nodded absently. "It will not glow in… in that light, if that is what you mean."
Nick looked around once more, inspecting the work the other vampire had done. If he could get through tonight without whammying anyone…
"Do you need a story?"
The elven vampire's voice jerked him out of his thoughts. "What?"
"A story of what happened. Do you need one, or can you make one up yourself?"
"Oh." Duh. "I can invent one. From her eon out, you're my cousin, as is Nire. Could you go upstairs and tell Natalie?"
With a nod, Jander disappeared up the stair. Just as he could hear them speaking, the buzzer to the lift shrilled out its call. Nick barely glanced at the monitor before buzzing in the coroner and the two detectives.
"Detective Knight." The temp greeted him. "Is Doctor Lambert okay?"
Nick nodded silently. "She was upstairs. And since he came directly down here…"
"Well, I'm glad to hear that," he said before beginning a quick examination of the body.
The two detectives drew Nick off to the side slightly, which was relatively pointless. After all, there was no one else in the room to hear their conversation. Still, he followed without comment, wanting this to go as quickly and painlessly as possible.
"Well, Knight, this should be a case of clear-cut self-defense. Just tell us what happened."
Nick sighed, the lies flowing easily out of his mouth. "I was down here, watching TV. Natalie and my cousin were upstairs, going through some of the junk in one of the storage rooms. I heard someone coming up the back stairs, so I turned off the TV so I could hear better. I thought it might have been Abel and Nire - one of my other cousin's who's visiting. I had left the door unlocked and the alarm off so they could go in and out when they wanted, and I wouldn't have to let them in."
He smiled sheepishly, as though he were blaming himself for it. "But it didn't feel right. Then he," Nick spat out the word as though it were burning his mouth, "came in, waving his gun around and yelling. I told him to put it down, to calm down, and he wouldn't. My gun wasn't on me. He came running down the stairs as I was running for my gun, and he tackled me. We fought, he shot at me. I don't know how he missed, but he did, thank God. I managed to get my gun, and… I shot him."
"Did Natalie or your cousin see anything?" The body was being sent down the lift, now. It was only Nick and the other two detectives left.
"Not that I know of. Do you want to ask them?" He was trying to make this as easy for them as possible.
"Nope. Abel and… Nire weren't here?"
Nick shook his head. "When Abel was done working, he came back here, picked up Nire, and took her out shopping, or something like that. I don't know when they're going to be back."
The other detective, who had been silent up until now, grinned. "Is your entire family nocturnal, Knight?"
With a little chuckle, Nick nodded. "What can I say? We're night people, no pun intended."
The two detectives chuckled. "I think we're done here. Thanks Knight. Tell Dr. Lambert we're glad she's okay."
With a nod, Nick thanked them and showed them out. He got to work scrubbing the blood from the floor and fixing the mess. As soon as the lift went down, Jander came and helped, ignoring Nick's protests. They had the loft put back together in short order.
~~~~{@
It was half and hour past dawn when Nire and Abel came home. They were both dressed in completely new outfits, and Abel was moving like he had never been hurt. While he still had that faraway look in his eyes, he was clearly listening to Nire as she talked. And his eyes were wavering in and out of focus, but never did that go completely out of focus.
He was clinging onto Nire's hand and focusing in on her voice, his grip on sanity. His mind kept on flashing back to Kane, standing over his broken body, laughing and telling him that the little bitch was going to die. Telling him that she cared nothing for him anyway, and once more, he would own him. But then, Nire's hand would squeeze him slightly, as if she knew what he was thinking, and his mind would move on from the utter terror of that point to the pure relief of seeing the red hole appearing in his brother's forehead, and seeing the look of shock on the bastard's face as he fell backwards. Dead. Completely dead. There was no way he could get his hands on Abel again. His cohorts, yes, but never again Kane personally. Abel did not want to let go of his savior. She could do what she wanted with him now, hurt him as much as she wanted. And now that she didn't have to pretend to protect him from anyone, she would. But at least Kane was dead, and he would almost welcome pain from her. Because it meant Kane was dead. He was still terrified of her, and the pain she would cause.
But Kane was dead by her hand.
The lights were all off, save for one above the stove in the kitchen, when they stepped out of the lift. Nick and Natalie had gone to bed already, and Jander appeared to be asleep on the couch. Nire quieted her voice, finishing her sentence, and fell silent for a moment as the door to the lift rolled shut. Abel wasn't aware enough to notice the damage that had been repaired, but Nire was. There had been a *lot* of blood and structural damage. She assumed Jander had done a good job, and smiled proudly. Her lessons had been well learned.
"Well, kitten?" she asked quietly. "Wasn't that the most kickass thing you have ever done?"
Keeping his eyes fixed on the floor as was appropriate, he nodded, unsure of whether she wanted to hear it verbally or not. Depending on if she hit him would be his answer. But he had learned early on in his life that he got in less trouble if he didn't speak at all.
With a yawn, Nire let go of his hand. And, while he did not want to, he, too, let go. "Jander and I are going home soon, kitten, prob'ly tomorrow morning. We've vastly outstayed our welcome." She paused when he whimpered quietly, causing him to flinch from fear of retribution for interrupting her. She continued, however, after taking a break to yawn again. "So you have to actually start thinking about if you're going to stay here or come with me or what. But don't answer now," she warned him. "Seriously think about it. And you can change your mind whenever you want after you decide. Mmkay?"
He nodded again, his eyes fixed at her feet. He had as much fun as he could have been expected to have, but he was still dreading tomorrow night. One change from the norm didn't meant hat the rest of the time was going to be any different. The next time, she would probably just lock him up in the room Nick and Natalie had given him. And they wouldn't stop her, because odds were, they agreed that was how it should be handled.
"I'm going to sleep, kitten," she told him. "Are you going upstairs?"
He whimpered almost silently, hugging himself, still staring at the floor. That sounded as though she was telling him she was going to sleep down here, and he had to sleep upstairs. Tonight, he didn't care what Nire did to him, he just did *not* want to be alone. Not after… His stomach was twisting in disturbing knots again, roiling around and threatening to empty its contents.
"Whassa matter now, sweetheart?" Nire asked absently, heading over to the couch. He followed closely behind, for once wanting to stay within arms reach.
"Nothing," he replied quietly, almost silently.
"Yes there is." She stopped attempting to tease a pillow out from under Jander's feet and straightened up. He still kept his head down and his eyes on her feet, even when she moved so she was standing directly in front of him. When he felt her fingers on his chin, he flinched and whimpered nervously.
"Easy there, kitten." She lifted his chin until he was looking into her eyes. "You can look at me, you know." She petted his hair as his eyes, slowly filling with tears, met hers for a few moments before wavering away. "Want me to come upstairs with you, kitten? Is that it?"
He nodded tremulously, glancing at the vampire on the couch. "We'll let him sleep," Nire said gently. "As much as he claims he's fine and I say he's a-okay, he's still feeling sick and exhausted."
Greatly relieved, but the fact that it would just be him and Nire making him nervous, he went upstairs, following slightly behind her.
~~~~{@
Nick got the pleasure of actually being called into the precinct the very next *night* to be questioned by the men from the IA. Nire and Abel were gone when he woke up, and while Natalie fretted, he knew that the young man was in good hands.
*The vultures circle quickly around the scent of fresh meat, * he thought dryly as he drove to the precinct.
As soon as he got there and parked the Caddy, he was ushered into an interrogation room. Sympathetic looks were thrown his way by most of the people who were inside. A few looked smugly satisfied, glad that the Knightmare was in bad with the IA for once. It was odd sitting on the other side of the table while the two men lounged across from him, one in the chair, the other perched on the edge of the desk.
The whole encounter was interesting. Nick could only assume that the IA had been waiting to jump him. Otherwise, there was no way they could have gathered all of the information they were throwing at him in the space of twelve hours. And they were throwing *everything* at him.
He had to listen to them question and slander everything from his hunches and questionable behavior to the death of Schanke and Tracy being shot. The thin leash that reigned in his temper was strained to the breaking point as they continued. He *had* to stay calm, though. The last thing he needed right now was a long investigation. Not now.
To keep his temper in check, he allowed his mind to recede from what was going on and let his mouth answer automatically. He had much more important things to worry about than the indignity of the IA. Such as, was he doing the right thing by marrying Natalie? Already he had gone through this argument with himself over and over again. How much would she be willing to give up for him? How much was he willing to *ask* her to give up? Just because she claimed she was willing did not mean that she would not change her mind in a few years. When it was too late. And then…. Could he handle living and knowing her hate for all of eternity?
But that was in the future. There were more immediate problems. Most important being his Family. There was the dual issue of both Janette and LaCroix. Janette and Natalie had made a truce, he knew that. And it seemed to be upheld, although that could merely be because neither he nor Natalie had seen much of the gorgeous vampire since she came back to town. There was quite a large possibility that this was going to cause major problems between the three of them. That was the last thing he wanted. His sister was most definitely a major part of his life, he having relied on her for many years. And if it turned out that his marrying Natalie would be an issue… Well, he did not want that tainting the wedding.
Then, of course, there was LaCroix. He already knew what the General's reaction would be, and was not looking forward to it. Not another fight to spoil his mood. The fight that would ensue was a certain thing, for LaCroix *never* approved of what he did. The day he earned his Master's approval was the day hell froze. And it would be worse that longer he waited to inform the surly vampire. When this was over, no matter the mood of the ancient Roman, he would go to the Raven and tell him. Then hope for the best.
When the IA men decided they were done with him, he had to stifle sigh of relief. If he had to stay for another second, he was going to kill the two men, and damn the consequences. Leaving the precinct, he practically radiated rage. Even Reese stayed away, letting Nick exit the building without attempting to speak to him. It was comical the way that people parted as he came through, leaving him space. But Nick did not see the humor as he left.
Outside of the precinct, he drove off calmly. But as soon as he was out of view, he pulled over to the side of the road, gripping the steering wheel in his hands, his knuckles white. He needed to sit for a while and cool off. There was no way he could go back to the loft this angry, nor could he go to the Raven. He needed to take *many* deep breaths to calm down. The IA decided they were done 'for the day'. If they actually tried to question him again, he was going to seriously hurt someone. This brought the question of, could Internal Affairs investigate itself? Because this certainly seemed like some sort of vendetta and abuse of power.
Eventually, he started up the Caddy and headed for the Raven, using the drive there to psych himself up for informing his Family of this new development.
~~~~{@
The Raven was deathly quiet when he pulled up to the curb and parked in front of it. He took a moment in the car to fortify himself before getting out and going to the back door. Using the key Janette had given him, he let himself in. Now that he was inside, he could hear barely audible music and see flickering candlelight coming from the direction of the bar. That was where he could sense the two members of his immediate Family to be. So, he squared his shoulders and walked out to where they were waiting for him.
Janette smiled welcomingly at him, but it was LaCroix who spoke first after taking a sip of the bloodwine in his hand. "Good evening, Nicolas. And to what do we owe the dubious pleasure of your presence?"
LaCroix was in a nasty mood tonight. The joy that was oozing from his son as particularly irritating, seeing as how he was so despondent. While his desolation came in cycles, once every few decades or so, Nick's happiness seemed to follow the same cycle, intensifying when LaCroix was at the lowest point.
Nick decided to bite the bullet and come to his point without preamble. "I asked Natalie to marry me." He tensed, preparing for LaCroix's blowup.
A pang went through LaCroix's heart at those words. "And?" he asked emotionlessly.
"And she said yes." Nick tensed even more, waiting.
There was a long silence. Janette's eyes had grown wide, and she turned to watch LaCroix. No apparent reaction was forthcoming. He just watched Nick. When he finally spoke, there was no emotion in his voice.
"Congratulations, Nicholas." Then he stood up, turned around, and walked out of the room.
That was certainly unexpected behavior. Just what was LaCroix planning? Looking at Janette, Nick realized that just maybe there was nothing being planned. The way she was staring after LaCroix made him think something different was up. But she shook her head slightly before he could say anything and came out from behind the bar. She hugged him and kissed his cheek, smiling happily and burying her reservations. Nick deserved to be happy once in a while, and perhaps this time would turn out differently. In any case, she would speak to Natalie, and soon.
"Congratulations, Nicolas! Have you set a date for the wedding?"
"Not yet, but you will come, right?" He was honestly worried about that, and it showed on his face.
"Of course." Janette tossed her raven-black hair and smiled at him. "I wouldn't miss it for that world." She lowered her voice for the next part of what she had to say. "And LaCroix? He is invited to come?"
Nick actually had to think about that for a moment before nodding, and speaking softly. "What's wrong with him, anyway?"
Janette just stared at him, seemingly at a loss for words. She finally mustered speech, and said, "If you had to leave Natalie behind, would you ever forget her?"
"Of course not!" Nick exclaimed. "But what's your point?"
Janette sighed exasperatedly. "You should go back to your fiancé, Nicolas."
Nick's brow crinkled in confusion, but he understood that she wanted him to leave. While he was not sure just what he had done to make her angry, he retreated without argument. The whole idea had gone over exceedingly well, and he wasn't going to jinx it by doing anything other than what she wanted.
So he left.
~~~~{@
It wasn't until Nick was halfway home that his brain put the pieces together and he figured out what Janette had been alluding to. She was comparing LaCroix's… infatuation with Fleur to his love of Natalie. LaCroix? *Pining* for Fleur? The thought was preposterous.
There was absolutely *no* comparison.
LaCroix… Good Lord. He had loved the innocence of Nick's sister. He had been infatuated with the *idea* of Fleur. Within days, weeks at the most, he would have tired of the girl and cast her aside, just as he did with most of his fledglings. Nick did not want to see his little sister just like that any more than he wanted her to join him in the darkness. Whatever LaCroix had thought he found attractive would disappear when she was brought across.
Nick slammed the steering wheel with his hand. It was different! He was not getting what he had denied LaCroix, because *he had denied him nothing*. That cold, cruel heart could never understand the meaning of the word love. And how could he even assume to 'fall in love' with Fleur in such a short time? It wasn't possible.
Nick knew he loved Natalie because he couldn't stand to be without her. He wanted to protect her from the world, to be with her every moment of the day. A warm, fuzzy feeling filled him whenever he thought of her. He wanted to talk to her, to hear her opinions when he was making decisions. When he was angry with her, he still couldn't help but want to be near her, and when she was angry with him, it made his insides feel squeezed together and icy. He wanted to hold her when she had nightmares, and ease her fears. He wanted to make love to her every night to review their devotion to each other. And he was at times terrified that she was going to find someone new, better than him, and leave him.
That was love.
There was no way that LaCroix could feel any of that. He was incapable of such emotion, of thinking of anyone but himself. Janette was wrong. LaCroix did not remember Fleur as anything other than a way to have more control of Nick. And now, he was angry because he was losing that control. So he had stalked off to make plans to wreak havoc. He would kill Natalie to regain his control of Nick.
Nick's face hardened into an uncompromising mask. If he wanted to do that, he would have to get through him, first.
