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Sunday, June 15th, 1997
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REALIZATION DAWNS, BUT DAY DOESN'T (1/2)
By Michelle David, with assistance from Julia Kocich and Kelly Green
Takes place after "The Swarm Descends"


<Knock.>

<Knock knock>

"Anyone in there?"

An auburn haired woman answered the door. "Oh, hi, Michelle."
She studied the UFer for a moment. "Weren't you at the Sutton
Place with Leslie and Julia?"

Michelle entered the bar, carrying her Huny Pot under one
arm, with her laptop and suitcase fighting for room by her other
arm. "Yeah. I took a cab back," she said.

"A cab?" Maus asked. "Why?"

Michelle had a brief flashback to the hotel, a flashback in
which she had decided that rather than having to be in the
same room with Julia and Leslie, she'd rather be in the quietness
of the unexplored mansion. "It's more peaceful here," she said.

Maus shrugged and helped her set up her laptop in the bar.

=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\

"And the spirit of love is rising within me, talking to you now,
telling you clearly the fire still burns..." Michelle sang along to 
the Depeche Mode song on the stereo, glad she had brought along her
CD collection. To her annoyance, other than CERK, no radio
station seemed worth listening to.

Her laptop was set up on a glass table in the bar, and the
owner was sitting in front of it, shoulders relaxed and her hands
busily typing, long neck straining slightly to let the woman see the
small screen accurately. Michelle smiled happily as the computer 
beeped, notifying her that the internet connection on her laptop had 
gone through. Taking a sip of the Dr. Pepper (breakfast of champions 
and computer junkies), she hit 'Check Mail'.

"Mph! 130 messages? Falafel," the woman exclaimed, the corners of 
her lips creasing into a frown. The Eudora marquee showed the message 
titles as they downloaded, and she read a few of them aloud to no one 
in particular. "WAR: Forever Friday Knight... War?"

"Yo, Maus, do you know if they keep any asprin here?"

"Check the bathroom," Maus reasonably suggested.

"Ooh, good idea," Michelle replied, standing and heading to the 
bathroom. Once there, she searched the medicine cabinet.

"Cool. Bee pollen," she announced. Apparently, even the medicine 
cabinet had been stocked before their arrival. Taking the container, 
she slipped it into the front pocket of her jeans and continued her 
search for the asprin. Finding it, she took two with a glass of 
water.

Drinking the rest of the water, she stared at herself in the mirror.

A rather tall woman, she appeared almost spindly rather than imposing. 
She was much more confident battling people behind a monitor than in 
RL! If it was indeed war, than it would be her first. "I'm not 
ready," she whined softly.

Shaking her head, Michelle headed over to the bar, noting no one was 
tending it right now. "Hm. Wonder who can bartend..."

"Hi, April," she greeted her fellow UFer, who was apparently on a 
mini-crusade in the fridge. "What are you looking for?" She grabbed 
a handful of pretzels from a large bowl. Yum. Pretzels. Salt. 
Preservatives. Life.

"Umm... a decaffinated coke?"

Michelle smirked, and used her best LaCroix voice, which was a brutal, 
savage mangling of the velvety utterances. "Yes... I don't recall 
any of the staff reporting a decaffinat-"

"Never mind," April replied quickly, grabbing a regular carbonated 
beverage and facing the other. "What's up?" she asked, curious.

"Nothing much. You?"

April shook her head and took a long sip from the Coke.

"Oh, did you know that a war's going on ri-"

A thin spray of coke covered her. "Ew," she exclaimed, grabbing a 
dishtowel and futilely trying to wipe at it. "That's real silk," 
she said, while April attempted to catch her breath.

"Really? War?" she asked.

The cheerful ping sounded on her computer over the CD, and both 
looked that way. "Check it out," Michelle said, heading to her 
computer.

"Do they charge you if time's standing still? They can't keep 
records... Free internet time."

"Good thinking!" Maus commented from the other side of the table.

Michelle cringed as she saw the incredible volume of posts in her 
mailbox, each subject neatly preceeded by the header "WAR". She 
opened the first message and began to read intently.

"We've gotta tell everyone else," April quickly announced. "I'm 
panicking already..."

"About what?" asked Jules. She wore her UF t-shirt proudly, and 
was carrying a glass of mead with her.

"Cool," said April, displaying that she also wore the shirt, that 
which contained Nick and LaCroix... holding hands... smiling... 
both leaning forward slightly... (sorry, this writer is not going 
to be able to continue on that subject).

"WAR!!!" yelled a new voice. Wendy Marie ran in, waving around 
Jules' LaCroix bear. "I just checked my email-" 

"Hey, let go of that!" Jules snapped, grabbing the bear from Wendy 
Marie. "You know how possessive I am about my FK stuff."

Wendy Marie pouted. "Hey, who has the picture of the Nick and LC 
bears on their site? Besides," she added, her mouth crinkling
into a smile, "Check out what Perry and Tybalt did to your cape..."

"Whaa--" Jules' face briefly flushed before she regained her composure. 
"Yeah right. Laurey wouldn't let them near my stuff... I bought LC's 
cape from BtK, and will physically hurt those dogs if they do 
anything. I've got my wooden stake."

"War?" yet another voice asked, smaller than Wendy's bellow.

"Hi, Susan," April greeted her friend. Susan came in and took an 
iced tea from the fridge before joining the congregation.

April took a quick head count, then said, "Where's Laurey, Jen, 
Jennifer, Toby, Leslie, Julia, and Sukh?"

Susan answered automatically. "Sukh and Laurey are looking around 
the stables. Jennifer and Jen are in the East Wing; the art collection. 
Toby's getting us some groceries, and Julia and Leslie are at Sutton 
Place."

"Susan, please go get Jennifer and Jen. April, call Sutton Place; 
they're staying in room 1228, naturally. Wendy Marie, get Sukh and 
Laurey, check the stables."

"There's no horses," April interjected.

"But Susan says the two are checking it out. Please. I've gotta stand 
here and order everyone around."

"Why?" asked Wendy Marie, still annoyed that she was being denied 
the LaCroix bear.

"Because I teach middle school. I know how to order people around," 
answered Jules cooly. "*And*, I'm your ride back to the States."

Wendy Marie automatically went to her ordered destination.


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REALIZATION DAWNS, BUT DAY DOESN'T (2/2)
By Michelle David, with assistance from Julia Kocich and Kelly Green
Takes place after "The Swarm Descends"


A knock on the door startled Michelle out of her message reading. 
"Don't get it!" she said, as Maus started to head to the door.

"Why not?" queried the curious Maus.

"It's *war*. Who knows who it could be?"

Maus rolled her eyes. "We haven't done anything to anyone," she said, 
opening the door before Michelle could respond.

A blonde woman, carrying a guitar case and suitcase, looked in. "Um, 
hi... I'm Rebecca..."

Michelle instantly stood up, thoughts of Dying for Fame's jail scene 
in her head. "Hi, Rebecca."

Jules walked up to the woman, inquisitive. "Why are you here?" Rebecca 
dug into her jeans pocket. "I got this letter, from Nick, asking me 
to perform here for about a week..."

Michelle took the letter, and opened the crisp papers, examining the 
letter carefully. It *seemed* legitimate... She looked at Rebecca. 
"So what, you're just going to perform for a week or two and out of 
here?"

She shrugged. "Yeah..."

Jules smiled broadly. "Great. Want something to drink?"

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"Weeiiirddd," Leslie intoned, entering the Hive with Julia, Leslie 
carrying a smallish case with her. She glanced behind her before 
closing the door. "It's still dark outside."

April looked up from the phone, and set the receiver down. "How did 
you get here do fast?" she asked the two.

Leslie gestured to the case in her arms. "Checked my email," she 
explained, heading over to the fridge.

"And I was unceremoniously pulled from the Sutton Place," Julia 
muttered under her breath, grabbing an iced tea and sitting down 
at the bar.

Leslie glanced at her friend. "Oh come on, you're still sore that 
I kidnapped you forcibly from your job at the Met during a critical 
time and now you have no means to return?"

Julia glared at her. "No, I just thought about the fact that I'm 
probably going to get a life sentence for your murder."

Leslie pushed the phone on the bar over to her. "Call them," she 
said. "We're not paying the phone bill, after all."

She glanced at Sukh, who just had arrived with Laurey and Wendy Marie. 
"Are we?" Sukh shook her head.

Shrugging, Julia picked up the phone and dialed up the Metropalitan
Opera House. "Hello... this is Julia Kocich, I need to speak to..."
Her face became confused. "What?" She listened to the other end for 
some time. After a while, she said, "Thank you very much," and hung 
up, a puzzled look on her face.

"What?" asked Leslie, handing her a can. "Have a coke, my unsuited 
friend."

Julia looked up. "They said they're giving me a two week vacation..."

Leslie smiled. "See? No need to worry." Of course, that only doubled 
the anxiety Julia was experiencing.

Toby came out from the kitchen. "I'd worry, if it was a war," he said.

"Beer?" offered Leslie from behind the bar.

"Please." Leslie handed it to him. 

"So, any wise words?"

Toby shrugged. "Don't get killed, for one." Jules rolled her eyes. 

"Do you take requests?" asked Maus of the singer, who had set herself 
up onstage.

"Sure. What do you want?"

Maus and Michelle exchanged smiles, and simultaneously said, 
"Possession." They both shared in their current love of Sarah 
McLachlan's haunting voice.

"And I would be the one to hold you down... kiss you so hard, I'll 
take your breath away..."

Susan, Jen, and Jennifer arrived from the East Wing.

Jennifer listened the Rebecca's beautiful voice for a moment with a 
smile on her face.

"Into the sea of waking dreams I follow without pride..."

"Yo, Jennifer," Leslie said, shaking her out of her trance.

Julia, now free of the handcuffs and some of her worry, leaned forward 
and looked at the computer screen. "We were in Toronto by complete 
coincidence, then the war began..."

"How do you know it's a complete coincidence?" asked Sukh curiously, 
staring at the posts. "I mean, we were all here in one area and 
suddenly there's a war... awfully convenient."

"First off, figure out why time stopped!" April said quickly.

"I'll bet it's a conspiracy by the goverment..."

"<Wrong show>," Susan whispered quietly to her.

"Why all of these duplicates are appearing!" added Wendy Marie.

Laurey cast a look at Rebecca, who was singing "The Dark Side of 
the Glass" now. "So, you think that-" she made a quick gesture to 
the performer "-is a clone?"

Leslie frowned slightly. "According to these posts, they aren't 
clones, but they're more like... that Michael Keaton movie... you 
know, each one of them is totally different. Some people are getting 
incredible fantasy versions of their Nicks, LaCroixs, etc., but others 
are getting incredibly weird versions that only come with a mead or 
ribena overdose dream..."

Michelle nodded in agreement. "Then, that means we're going to have a 
couple of... duplicates coming our way..." Silence. Then, Laurey 
asked, "What will ours be like?"

"Country singer?"

"Avon saleslady?"

"Politican?"

Jules shook her head vehemently. "No, nope, no way. We're the UF, 
Laurey. There's only one Nick Knight and one Lucien LaCroix. We 
wouldn't manifest Lucien LaCroix, 
country singer/Avon saleslady/movie starlet/Jehovah's Witness."

"Not an overdose dream..." a voice behind them interjected. Kelly 
moved past them to the bar, "This is more like..."  her voice trailed 
off for a moment as she searched for an appropriate metaphor, "this 
is like bad network television. You know: "The Flying Nun", "My 
Mother the Car."

"Hogan's Heros?"

"Alf?"

"Urkel?"

"Leave it to Beaver the New Generation?"

"Exactly!" she took a glass and rummaged through the bottles. "Did 
you see any cognac?" she asked Sukh. Wait - here it is." She poured 
a shot of the warm brown liquor into her glass and inhaled, savoring 
it's aroma for a moment, then slipped into a chair by the others.
"It's as if all of this," she motioned with her arm, "all of the Nicks, 
all of the LaCroixs, all of the god knows what elses, were 
manifestations of the imaginations of the powers that be in one of 
their 'planning' meetings. And we all know all too well the kinds of 
things that come out of their 'planning' meetings."

There was dead silence in the room as they exchanged glances. It *was* 
true. They had all suffered grievously at the hands of TPTB.

Michelle interrupted, "Now wait a minute. We may have had our 
differences with TPTB, but even *they* can't be so stupid as to 
think that we would want to watch "Nickapoo, Vampire Kangaroo-boy 
Homicide Detective!"

Jules sat forward, looking her straight in the eye and whispered the 
most accursed name in all of television viewerdom: "*Barney*". 

A shudder of revulsion shot through the room. It was too horrible to 
think about.


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HEDONISM HAS ITS COST (1/1)
By Leslie GrantSmith and Julia Kocich, Unnamed
Set in the Sutton Place hotel, after "Realization Dawns, But Day
Doesn't"

This "no time" thing is making me nuts, thought Leslie, as she
waited inside the door of Julia's hotel room as her friend got ready
to go.  Julia's years as a stage manager had made her pretty good at
telling the passage of time while awake, but it didn't help in
guessing how long they had slept.  She leaned back against the wall,
rolling her head wearily against it.  She'd slept.  But she had no idea
how long.  She'd gotten up when she woke up and had discovered
Julia was awake as well.  So she assumed she'd gotten enough
sleep.  But now she felt tired.  Sometimes she only slept a couple
hours and woke up feeling completely alert, then crashed and
burned an hour after that.  She wondered if that was what was
going on.  Or she could simply be tired after all the cleaning and
setting up she had done at the Hive the "day" before.  Or it *could*
simply be the effect of overindulging in selections from the Sutton's
outrageously decadent room-service menu.

She wondered what effects this ... eternal eventide would have on
vampires.  When would *they* sleep, without the sun's guidance?
She conjured up a vision of Toronto populated (if that was the
word) by hopped up, slightly dazed vampires, eyes glazed more
than usual ... not a pretty picture.

She and Michelle had gotten Julia ensconced in the Sutton Place
yesterday night... or whatever.  They'd all taken shameless
advantage of the hotel's room service, to the point of satiety and
beyond (courtesy of Julia's credit), hot showers and then, for some
strange reason, Michelle had taken herself and her Pooh Bear jar
back to the Hive.  Julia and Leslie had eventually wound down their
vigorous "discussion" and gotten some sleep.  Then, though it was
still dark outside, they'd gone back to the Hive to help clean it up.

To their dismay, they had found that War had begun, and that in
addition to the descent of this eternal night, that ... clones, strange
outlandish clones of the FK characters, perhaps the result of the
mental influence of some truly bizarre imaginations, were appearing
in Toronto and elsewhere.  Leslie's stomach lurched at the thought
of the confusion that would reign.  Or perhaps it was that third
piece of baklava.

Leslie and Julia had helped clean, and joined in the speculation of
the cause of these anomalies with their fellow UFfers.  Some
bedrooms had been dusted and set up, but they had left their stuff
back at the hotel, and had opted to spend one more ... sleep (and
feast) session there.  Then they too, the Hive having finally met
Julia's standards of comfort, would join their fellow Unnameds in
their new home.

Julia jammed the last bit of clothing into her suitcase.  "There.  I
wonder how the hotel is going to charge me.  After all, I've only
stayed one night here.  In fact, why don't we hold on to suite 1228?
Technically, they can't charge us for more than one night, can
they?"

"Oh, yeah, let's do that.  I've only gone through half the menu.
And maybe they'll charge by how many times you slept here.  I
dunno.  Not our problem."

"Well.  Not *yours*, certainly."

Leslie opened the door to the room, and allowed Julia to precede
her out.  She followed, waddling a bit, closing the door behind her.
Suddenly, Julia grabbed her wrist.  Leslie's knees began to buckle as
Julia's adrenaline-powered grip ground her bones together.

"Ow, ow, ow," she whimpered.  "Julia, remember, I'm a sadist.  I
don't like my own pain."

"You lied to me," whined Julia.

"I'll never do it again, I swear," Leslie vowed, eyes watering.
"What did I lie about?"

"Lacroix," Julia hissed.

Leslie looked up, blinking away tears, and became paralyzed, much
like a rabbit in the headlights of an oncoming semi.  His hand on the
knob of his room's door, brows lifted over ice clear eyes, Lacroix
stood gazing at them quizzically.  Enchanting eyes, Leslie decided
somewhere in the back part of her brain where thought still moved,
however sluggishly.  But really, all in all, she'd rather he was
looking in another direction.  Oh yes.

He pocketed his door key and took a pace toward them.  Without
thought, in unison, the two women took a step back.  He stopped.
They stopped.  With the slightest quirk to one corner of his mouth,
he stepped forward again.  The women again stepped back, this
time with a little jostling of their shoulders as they both tried to
edge behind the other.  He stopped again and smiled.  Julia and
Leslie froze in their tracks.

"Good evening, ladies," he said congenially.  "Do I know you?"

"No," croaked Julia, much to Leslie's relief, who couldn't say "no"
without lying and she hadn't the intestinal fortitude to lie to Lacroix.

"Really.  I thought I heard my name."

Leslie glared evilly at Julia for blurting out his name.  Really, where
were her survival instincts?  Back in New York?  One didn't call out
to the prowling panther.

"Um, um, oh," responded Julia cleverly.  Then something came to
her.  "Actually, you don't know me, er, us, but I recognize you.
I'm, uh, I really enjoy the Nightcrawler show.  When it was on, I
mean.  I saw a promo picture of you once."

Lacroix's smile deepened.  The women's eyes widened, Julia
inwardly cursing her inability to lie with any kind of aplomb.  "I
never released my real name to my listening public," he commented,
voice smooth, yet somehow, not soothing.

Leslie poked Julia.  "Don't lie," she whispered desperately.  "You
can't do it with him."  Lacroix's gaze focused on her and she edged
slightly behind her taller companion.

Julia sighed, a kind of comforting fatalism coming over her.  Really,
she'd known this would happen.  It was inevitable, once Leslie had
kidnapped her and brought her here.  Kismet.  Perhaps her whole
life was pointed at this moment, her tragic, senseless death at the
hands of this ancient vampire, his midnight snack, inevitable from
the first seconds she had allowed certain flickering images capture
her heart and imagination...

"Actually, I know you from Forever Knight.  The show..?"

Lacroix stared at her, a sort of pained expression darting across his
features.  "It actually is War, then?"

The two women nodded, unhappy to be the messengers bearing
these tidings.  "I'm sorry," whispered Leslie.  His eyes narrowed as
they flickered over her face, but he said nothing as she edged
further behind Julia.

"I *had* feared..." he said, looking off, to Leslie's relief, brow
furrowing slightly, clearly reassessing the situation he found himself
in.

"Actually," Julia said hesitantly, "actually, it's a good thing we ran
into you."  Lacroix's brows rose and she went on hurriedly.  "Yes.
See.  We-we've come into some property.  An anonymous
benefactor.  We were given to understand by this person that we
were to consider this property to be yours.  And Nicholas's.  That
you two could come stay anytime."

Lacroix's smile was more a grimace.  "Ah, yes.  I've been so
informed.  I'm quite comfortable here."

"Well, you're always welcome at the Hive, I mean the house," Julia
babbled on, her sense of obligation to their benefactor and their
goal to bring Lacroix and Nicholas together overcoming her good
sense as she gave him the Hive's address.  Was she really inviting a
vampire - *this* vampire - into a place she intended to live for a
time?  It seems she was and Leslie wasn't even kicking her shins or
jabbing an elbow into her ribs.

"Perhaps," Lacroix said, meaning never.  He was staying as far
away from an involvement in a War as he could.  "Good evening,
ladies.  Until we meet again.  And if I may, a suggestion.  Accept
no substitutes."  He smiled again, graciously, and while the
women's hearts paused for a very long moment, he turned and
strode down the hall and around the corner.

The two mortals stood still for an unrecorded length of time, the
hallway a hollow vacuum where once his presence was.  Julia
placed her hand over the pounding in her chest.  "I'm alive," she
remarked wonderingly.

"Perhaps it's only temporary," replied Leslie abstractedly, worrying
her lower lip with her teeth.  "Yes, I'm sure it's only temporary."

Julia refused to allow her simple exultation over her continued
survival to be dampened.  The fickle hand of Death had passed her
by!  She said a bit challengingly, "He didn't seem to know you.  I
thought you'd met him in the last War."

"He might be pretending, you know," Leslie hissed, brain fizzing
with mingled relief and trepidation.  "He's certainly capable of
pretending.  He's quite playful, after all."  Then she blinked, and a
slow grin spread over her face.  She looked up at Julia, a gleam in
her eye.  "He's looking rather well, don't you think?"

Julia stared at Leslie a moment, then an answering gleam and grin
graced her features.  "Oh, yes.  Those eyes..."

"Those lips..."

"His hands, oh my..."

They left the hotel, lovingly enumerating Lacroix's finest features.


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Monday, June 16th, 1997
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FAMILY IS THICKER THAN...  (1/1)
by Kelly Green and Julia Kocich, with invaluable assistance from 
Leslie GrantSmith
Time: shortly after "Hedonism Has Its Cost"


Kelly and Julia sat in the library, drinking a very nice sherry, 
vintage 1929. Julia gulped the liquid instead of sipping it. Her 
encounter with ... *him* was still fresh in her memory. Her friend had 
listened to her story with wide eyes and the look of a child watching 
a grownup eating a particularly delectable ice cream cone. Julia longed 
to change the subject.

"So, who do you think our anonymous benefactor is? I know who you 
*wish* it were, but..."  Julia smiled.

"Hmm, I don't know." Kelly's eyes glazed over, as she toyed with
the idea of this being one of the General's properties.  Ahhh.  The
General.  She absently wondered what he would look like in red...
red serge...  Mountie formal wear... it seemed so ... Canadian ... so
appropriate for the circumstances.

Julia cleared her throat, snapping her out of it.  Kelly glanced
around the room, as if she'd been caught doing something rude in
public.  She had to admit, becoming one of the General's properties,
under *any* circumstances wasn't very ... likely.

"What's your best guess?"

"You're asking *me*?  I have no head for names, you know that.
You're lucky that I don't call you Cathy."

"Well, what did the letter tell us?  The house hasn't been used much
recently, discreet security, Nick and Lacroix are like family.  It's a
vamp.  But which one?"

The two women sat back in their deep, high-backed leather chairs,
cogitating. To have to deal with one vampire in an evening may be 
regarded a misfortune, Julia thought, but *two* ... She poured herself 
some more sherry.

"Oooh, I think I know - what was the name of the old guy whom
Lacroix brought across to keep him close to his grandson?
Something like that, anyway.  What was his name - Don
Consadine?"

"You mean Don Constantine."  Kelly shook her head at Julia's
abysmal - and shameless - inability to retain names and titles.

"Yeah, that's it - the, um, `connected' vamp.  It fits.  I wonder what
he *really* wants from us."

"Well, his letter says he'd like to help bring them back together.  
I'd take him at his word."

"I'm not doubting his word, or his larger intentions.  I'm just
worried about his immediate ... plans, for *us.*"

"You do like to worry, don't you?  Five minutes ago,
you were wallowing in the pleasures this house has to offer, and
now..."

The phone rang on the small table next to Julia's chair.  She picked
it up, paused, and whispered to Kelly, "How are we answering the
phone, by the way?  `Hello, Hive?'" and made a face.  "Hello.  This
is Julia."

"Julia?  How do you do.  May I speak with the leader of your ...
group?"  The male voice was measured, and formal.

"Umm.  I can check to see if Sukh is awake right now.  May I ask
who's calling?"  She mouthed, "Get Sukh" to Kelly, and waved her
arms in an absurd pantomime.

"This is Don Constantine ...  your friend remembered correctly."

"Ah. I see."  He's discreet, but shameless, she thought.  Not for
the first time, Julia desperately tried to review her recent 
statements and wisecracks, searching for the unforgivable remark 
that would get her into big, big trouble.

"So you've been listening to us all this time?"

"I am not in the habit of allowing events to take me by surprise.
I've led a long life and I intend to lead a much, much longer one.
Anything, anyone who may ... affect those intentions, I keep an
eye on.  A very, very close eye."

"Thank you for the house," Julia said, opting to move onto a new
topic.  She fought the impulse to start peering around the room in
search of hidden microphones.  "It's quite ... lavish. Perhaps it's 
the constant night-time, but some of us have started looking for 
secret passageways and mysterious klews that might have been left for
us."

The Don laughed.  It was not a pleasant sound.  "I don't waste my
time, or the time of those who work for me, in tricks and puzzles.
I'm a very simple man."

(Vampire, she silently corrected.)

Julia looked up as Kelly came back into the room and mouthed,
"She's asleep."

"I'm sorry, sir, but she's asleep.  And not before time, she was 
really tired.  Is there someone else, anyone else, that you could 
speak with?" she blathered.

"Let me speak to your friend."

"My..?  Oh ... OK.  Kelly, Don Constantine would like to speak
with you."  Julia got up to let Kelly sit in the chair closest to the
phone.  She went over to where Kelly had been sitting, and tried
not to sulk too loudly.

"Don Constantine?  Hello, this is Kelly."

"Miss Kelly, how do you do?  I understand that you have a theory
about this spatial-temporal anomaly.  Tell me."

She ran her hand through her hair, taking a moment to compose her
thoughts.

"Well Sir, I believe that this rift, this temporal anomaly, if you 
will, has been caused by a combination of things, but the primary 
culprit is the element 'administratium'.  Do you know what that is?"

"No.  Explain it to me."

She glanced over a Julia who motioned with her hands for her to go
on.

"Administratium is one of the most volatile elements in the known
universe.  Infinitesimal amounts of it can slow things down to the
point where they virtually stop functioning: the U.S. Congress, for
example."

"The line at the Department of Motor Vehicles?" the Don asked.

"An excellent example - they made *you* wait in line at the
DMV?" Kelly asked, surprised.

"Only the one time," he answered, and she could hear him smiling
with a savored memory.  "Please continue".

"Well, in some scientific circles, there has been discussion of
administratium having become increasingly volatile since the
passing of the comet Hale-Bopp through our solar system.  Many
have been holding their breaths hoping that it would not reach
"critical mass".  I fear, Sir, that it has done exactly that, and in 
the worst possible of places:  a television network."

"Are you sure?  Which one?"

"I don't know, Sir, but the strange things that have been happening
all point to a meeting of some sort wherein Forever Knight was
being discussed.  It could have been a discussion about bringing the
show back - it may very well have been a discussion about viewer
demographics - that would explain all of the different FK characters
suddenly appearing.  At some point in that room, administratium
reached critical mass and the ideas that were being discussed began
to physically manifest themselves."

She motioned at Julia to pass her sherry over.

"Excuse me one moment," she said, taking a healthy swallow of
her drink.  "And now, the only way to counteract such high levels
of administratium in those offices is to write letters.  They must be
overwhelmed with letters.  The volume of mail must equal the
volume of unstable administratium in order for the rift to correct
itself, and the world as we know it to return to normal.  This *may*
be War, but on this issue, if the factions are to survive at all, 
then we *must* work together."

She stopped.  There was silence at the other end of the phone.

She looked over at Julia. They shrugged at each other, waiting for
his decision to be made.

"I approve of your plan.  Uniting all the  famil ... I mean, factions, 
in a common cause is a wise decision.  And refusing to write such a
letter should be ... unthinkable, under the circumstances.  If you
meet any resistance, my ... associates are available to assist you."

"Oh, Sir," Kelly protested, voice rising a bit in pitch, "I'm sure that
won't be necessary.  We *all* want our Forever Knight back.  In its
true and proper state."

The Don grunted, then went on, gravely intense.  "That would
certainly be best, for all concerned.  Just remember, Miss Kelly, I
intend to live a long, long time, and what keeps Forever Knight
alive, keeps me alive."  With that he hung up.  Kelly stared at the
phone a moment, looking a bit pale, then hung up.  She
looked up a Julia, staring at her a bit wide eyed.

"We gotta remember...  `Quid pro quo.'  Nothing comes for free
with these guys," Kelly said softly.  Then, "Dang!  I forgot to ask
him where he keeps his golf clubs.  I gotta practice or my instructor
will know I've been screwing around."

"Let's get the world turning again, Kelly, then worry about our
golf-swing, shall we?  You can't play golf at midnight, anyway.
Let's go find the others, pass this along."  Julia strode briskly out 
of the room.  Kelly followed a bit more slowly, cradling her sherry.

"I bet *they* can play golf at midnight," she murmured.


FIN


@==@==@==@==@==@==@==@==@==@==@==@


IS IT REAL, OR IS IT MEMOREX  (1/1)
by April Hackett and Susan Field, with invaluable assistance from 
the UF Warriors
Time: shortly after "Family Is Thicker Than ..."


Susan Field and April Hackett pushed their way out of the convenient
store, with two full carts overflowing with bags.

"Did we get everything, April?" Susan asked as they put the last 
grocery bag in the back of the truck.

"All except the tortilla chips and magazines.  I can't believe they 
were out of chips."  April, the taller member of this friendship, 
pushed the carts into the nearest cart holder and climbed behind the 
wheel.

"We still need to pick up a paper too," Susan reminded her friend.

"Oh, yeah.  I hope they have managed to print something other than the
same news over again.  I would like to know if anyone has come up with
a logical reason for all this craziness," April replied, starting the 
truck.

Looking toward the front of the store, Susan sighed, "Looks like we'll
have to look elsewhere.  All those machines are empty."

"Okay.  I seem to remember passing a news stand on our way here.  Let's
go there," came the reply as they eased out into traffic.

"Can you believe all the weird stuff that's going on in this town?  I
honestly didn't expect to see *the* Nick and LaCroix, much less the
dozen or so that we've passed since we've been out," April said as they
drove past yet another Forever Knight character.

"Was that Vachon or Memorex?" Susan asked, looking back at the tall,
dark haired man walking down the sidewalk.

Shrugging, April replied, "Who know..." then glanced at her petite 
friend. "I wonder how many Nicks there are..." whispered out, followed 
by a growing smile.

"Not to mention LaCroixs," was returned with a slight shudder.  "Can you
imagine?"

With an agreeable nod, they both watched for that news stand as "Black
Rose" poured forth from the tape deck.

"Ah, there it is!" both women said at the same time, then laughed. 
Pulling into an empty parking space close by, they jumped out and 
headed for the stand.

As they approached the stand, April noticed a man standing off to one
side of the stand, with his back toward them.  The stance of the man 
was familiar, as was the dark brown suede jacket he was wearing.  "I 
wish he would move further into the light," she mumbled, still staring 
at the tall man.

"What?"

"Susan, you see that tall man standing over there reading a paper?" 
April asked, glancing toward her friend.

"Where?  What does he look like?" she asked, her good looking bachelor
sonar kicking in.

"He's right... there," came whispering out as the spot was now empty of
anyone.  "Weird!"

"Who did you see, April?  Was it Nick... Vachon... Screed," she asked,
teasing.  "You're married, April!"

"I know that!" came the quick retort.  Smiling at her friend as she 
asked for a paper and several magazines for the crew back at the Hive, 
April continued, "But, that doesn't mean I can't look, does it?"

"No, April,"  Smiling even bigger, Susan continued, "Fortunately, I'm 
in a position to do more than look!" she stated, pushing out her 
non-existent bust.

Laughing at Susan's antics, the tall UFer glanced up at the sky and 
noticed that the stars were still in the same position they have been 
in since arriving in Toronto.  "You know, we could stop at the 
planetarium on the way home.  Now would be a great time to use the 
telescope.  Wouldn't have to worry about tracking the stars, since 
they're staying still," April said, then glancing at Susan as they 
walked back to the vehicle.

"I guess so.  It won't hurt and might be fun," she replied as they 
pulled out and merged with the traffic.

=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\

There was a lot of coming and going happening at the planetarium.  A
couple of people in white coats were talking to a crowd of reporters.
People were moving in and out of the main building freely, so the two
women decided to go see what they could get into.

April quickly stepped out of the truck and slammed the door.  As Susan
climbed out singing "Good morning Star Shine", April rounded on her and
threatened, "If you don't stop that, you'll be seeing stars all right!"

"What, you don't like music?" Susan asked sweetly, as they walked
toward the planetarium.

"I like music fine.  Thing is *that* wasn't music!"

Stepping inside the lobby, April suddenly turned toward Susan.  "Did you
hear that whooshing sound, Susan?"

"No, just now?"

"Yes, I could have sworn I hear..." April said as they rounded a corner
only to run right into someone.  Strong, male hands reached out and
steadied her as she stumbled back from the collision.  Looking slowly up,
the dark brown suede jacket, blue silk shirt and Susan sputtering all
merged into one very handsome face of Nicholas Knight.

Staring into his beautiful blue eyes and unconsciously noted his wind-
blown hair, April whispered, "I know I have Nick on the brain, but I
didn't know I'd start hallucinating too."  When the grip on her arm or 
the man in front of her didn't disappear, April squeezed, "Ahhhh!  Excuse
me!!!"

"Are you all right?" that deep, velvet smooth voice asked.

Feeling a silly smile growing, April pulled herself together and 
answered, "Yes," with a hoarse voice.  "I'm fine.  Thank you."  
Struggling to keep the smile under control, she jumped when Susan 
grabbed her elbow.

"It's Nick!  April, it's really Nick!" she finally managed to whisper as
Nick smiled back at her.

"Yes, I do believe it is."

Nick released the grip he had on April's arm when she finally showed
signs of not falling on her butt, then stepped back.  "What are you ladies
doing here?"

"I could ask the same question.  You're not on the police force anymore,
are you?" April asked, curious.

"Looking around briefly, he softly answered, "No, not anymore."
Glancing back and forth between them, he stood and waited for an
answer to his question.

Catching herself before she fell into those blue eyes, <What is it 
with me and blue eyes!>, April got a grip and said, "We thought we 
would take advantage and sneak a good look at the stars."

"Yes, I had the same thought.  Unfortunately, they're not allowing
civilians near the telescope right now," he replied.

"Well, I guess we should head back to the Hive, then.  We've been on the
road a long while," April stated as a huge yawn threatened.

"I noticed your truck's tags.  Virginia is a long way from here," Nick
replied, his curiosity about the two rising.

"I'm from Florida," Susan happily stated.

Glancing at my friend, April smiled and continued, "Yes, I picked up a
couple of riders who had flown up to Virginia.  We decided to all ride up
together."

"What's the Hive?" Nick asked.

"The Hive is where we're staying in Toronto.  It's a really nice mansion
that was deeded to the UF loop members for our use while we're in
Toronto."

As we headed back outside, Nick walked us to the truck.  He stopped by
it and asked, "So, what brought you to Toronto: and just in time to fall
into this mess, too?"

"FK war has been declared, Nick!" Susan blurted out.  "It's our first time
to play, too!"

"Uh, oh... another war has invaded Toronto?" Nick replied with a
growing look of apprehension.

"'Fraid so, though this unexpected crisis will have to be dealt with 
first." 

"You know, I wonder if that's why I've been sensing so many vampires in
Toronto lately.  Not to mention other things...," he said, briefly lost 
in thought.

Leaning against the truck, he said, "I'm going to ask you two for some
help in dealing with this problem."

"You're kidding," Susan shot back as her surprise lit her face.

"I don't know why, but I feel I can trust you two.  It's just a feeling 
I have... Almost like we're connected. " Nick explained, looking April 
in the eye.

"Thank you," April replied, pleased by the confidence shown them.

"Your welcome," he returned, smiling.  "What's the address of this
'Hive'?"

Susan grabbed for her purse.  Jerking paper and a pen from the deep
confines, she tried to write the address without dropping the bulging
purse.  No such, luck though.  The purse dropped with a dull splat and a
large hoard of honey sticks rolled out, in assorted flavors.  Picking up 
a cinnamon stick, Susan thrust it at Nick and asked, "Ah, you want a 
honey stick, Nick?"

"Ah, no thanks, I've already drun...., ah, eaten.  Besides, there's no 
wine to go with it," Nick replied, ducking away from the sticky stuff.

Pulling the honey stick back, Susan handed him the address and began to
clean up the pile at her feet.

Leaning down, April picked up a handful and slipped them into his jacket
pocket, saying, "You never know when they'll come in handy."

Nick glanced at his pocket, then smiled.  "I'd prefer a different sort 
of snack," then looked pointedly at April's neck.

"Ahhh, could we talk about that?" she stuttered, though she held her
ground.

"We'll see.  I'll be in touch soon," Nick stated, smiling that he had 
scored in the teasing, then stepped away from the truck.

"Nick.... do you have internet access?" April asked before he could 
leave.

"Yes, why?" he replied, looking back at her.

"If you need to, you can get hold of me by e-mail too.  Use
Knightwave@aol.com."

"Thanks.  I assume that's with a K?" he asked, smiling.

"'Fraid so," April replied, with a small blush creeping across her 
cheeks. Man, that smile could melt an iceberg!

"Okay, I'll be in touch," floated back to us as he leapt into the air.

"That made my trip!" Susan exclaimed.  "Then having a conversation
with him.  And he wasn't one of those strange Nick's we've seen around
either.  That was icing on the cake!!"

"Come on, let's get back.  I need a nap.  And unless someone was sweet
enough to make our beds, then we're going to have to do that before I can
collapse for a few hours."

"Right."  Giggling, Susan sang out as we drove off, "I can't wait to 
tell the others!!"


@==@==@==@==@==@==@==@==@==@==@==@


THE BEST NEWS IS NICK NEWS (1/1)
by April Hackett
Time: shortly after "Is it Real or Is It Memorex"


Susan burst through the front door of the Hive and immediately began
yelling.  "You guys will *not* believe what happened to us!"

"What happened, Susan?" Cousin Jen asked as she walked down the
stairs, a soda in her hand.

"We met NICK!"

<knock, knock>

"What do you mean you met Nick?" several voices demanded.  "The real
Nick, or one of the whatevers that are running around Toronto?"

<Knock, Knock>

"I don't know!  He seemed like Nick... and oh, so handsome!  April 
gave him her e-mail address... oh, Maus, you need to add April's 
e-mail name to your guest account: just in case."

"Ssuussaann," was heard coming from the other side of the front door.

"We went out to the planetarium..." Susan began.

"Why did you do that!" Michelle interrupted, curious.

"SSSuuusssaaannn."  <Knock!, Knock!>

"April wanted to see if we could use the telescope," Susan explained.

<Bang, Bang>

"Is anyone going to answer the door?" Kelly asked.  "I have a 
headache."

"And did you?" Laurey asked.

"No, unfortunately.  They aren't letting anyone near the thing!  But, 
while we were there, we literally ran into Nick.. or rather April did!"

"SUSAN!!!"

"Oh," Susan looked around, then made a mad dash for the front door,
which had closed behind her when she came in.  "I'm sorry, April.  The
door closed...."

"What's the matter with you , are you deaf?!" April declared as she 
strode into the room with both arms filled with grocery bags.

"I know, but..."

"Did you remember to tell them about all the groceries in the truck?  I
need some help getting all the bags into the house," April said as she
moved toward the bar, setting down the bags.

"No, I got carried away telling them about Nick!" Susan said, looking
sad.

Taking a deep breath, April hugged her friend and said, "It's okay, I 
don't mind... really.  The night air is supposed to be good for me 
after all."

Looking over the group that was standing rooted in place, April asked,
"Now, do you suppose we could get the groceries in before things start
growing on them?"

"Oh, right.  Sure thing," suddenly sang out through the room as everyone
began moving outside.

Left standing alone, April smiled and muttered, "It's surprising how some
people react when a certain blond, male vampire is mentioned."


@==@==@==@==@==@==@==@==@==@==@==@


LACROIX MAKES THE FIRST MOVE  (1/1)
By Leslie GrantSmith, Unnamed, with help from Julia Kocich and April 
Hackett
Set a vague 10 hours sort of time after "The Best News Is Nick News"

Finding Nicholas, of course, had been simple.  Lacroix knew his
tastes and he knew which part of the city he was in.  If he had so
desired, he could have followed their connection until he was
standing before him.  (Regardless of all the other vampires in
Toronto that bore the "scent" of family.  He shared a bond with
only one.)  Perhaps, if he had ... pressed hard enough, he could
have taken the information from his mind.  But Nicholas would
have felt that invasion.  And there was no point to starting things
off on the wrong foot, particularly when there was no need.  Simple
deduction located him, and the telephone was a marvelous thing.
He rang up the Hilton and asked for Nicholas Knight.  The receiver
was picked up after the first ring.

"Knight."

"Nicholas."

"Lacroix."

His son's voice revealed nothing, though there came a trace of a ...
vibration along their bond.  A silence on the other end continued,
until Lacroix smiled, realizing Nicholas was going to require him to
make the first move.  Very well.  He was amenable.

"Nicholas, I am here in Toronto.  Though, of course, you know
that."

"Of course.  There are a number of odd things currently in
Toronto."

Lacroix chuckled.  A stiffness, however slight, had become evident,
in Nicholas's voice, and a building tension sang along their
connection.  But there was no real sharpness in his son's comment,
his attempt to bring humor into an awkward situation.  It may also
have been a test, a probe to discern his own state of mind.

He smiled into the receiver.  "Yes, there are.  I do hope you haven't
gotten yourself too deeply embroiled with any of them.  I was
hoping for a moment of your time."

He heard a short, sharp intake of breath, then Nicholas saying,
"You know where I am, Lacroix."

"Yes, but I haven't an invitation," Lacroix replied softly.

"You've never needed one before."

"Things ... have changed, Nicholas."  He was momentarily caught in
a memory, more tactile than visual, the sensation of a blow
shocking through both his arms, to his shoulders, as he shoves the
honed stake through...  The smell of blood filled the air, his blood,
and he unclenched his fist to allow his palm to heal where the nails
had bitten in.

"Lacroix..."  Nicholas's voice, a bit strained, but still gentle,
intruded, pushing away the memory that still came to him in
dreams.

"Things ... have changed, Nicholas," Lacroix repeated, shaken by
his lack of self-control.

"Yes.  They have.  We do need to talk.  I ... want to talk to you."

"Where, Nicholas?  When?"

"Neutral ground, don't you think?  Someplace where there are no ...
memories."  Nicholas's voice took on a hint of mischief.  "How
about ... the Hive?"

Lacroix groaned.  "Oh, Nicholas.  You have become embroiled."

Nicholas chuckled.  "It's War, after all, Lacroix.  C'mon,
Constantine has told me all about it and will be hurt if we don't go
there at least once."

Lacroix thought dark thoughts about his interfering youngest son,
but found himself relenting.  It really didn't matter *where* they
met, just so long as they did.

"Very well.  When?"

"Now don't get all stuffy on me," Nicholas scolded, his grin audible.
"This could be fun.  Let's see...  I haven't slept recently, and I 
feel the need.  I'll call the Hive to let them know we're coming, then
grab a few winks.  Then I'll call *you* before we head over."

"All right, Nicholas.  In a few hours then.  Sleep well."

"I shall," Nicholas replied.  He hung up, and Lacroix cradled his
own receiver.  He looked around his hotel room a moment, then
collected a book, a bottle and a glass, and settled in to wait.  His
growing sense of anticipation amused him no end.  Really, he hadn't
felt so ... alive since he had killed his son just over a year ago.


=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\


End Part 2, June 15-16. Continued in Part 2, 17-18