xover: Inner Fire and The Light (03/16)
Jeannie Ecklund
Aug. 14, 2000


He felt Nick's arms tighten around him, and thought,  "As wise and as
old as this man is, he was still the very young man, who'd been spoiled
as a child, worshiped as a young man, and brought across
as a young man filled with anger.  A young man who had never had
responsibilities.  He had been changed by the Lord, but remained, deep
down, a child needing a father?s love and approval."

In the beginning, Joe had felt strange when Nick had come to him to be
held.  He had felt confused, a bit uncomfortable and fearful of the
situation, but Natalie had explained some of Nick?s childhood and told
Joe of his need for acceptance.

Now, as he held Nick close and his fingers touched the blond curls at
the back of Nick's head, he understood how much LaCroix must have needed
this 'sunlight' with him.  Nick was sunshine in a physical body.  Even
more so now, than before his conversion.

"Just pray for him, Nick,"  he repeated. "It's all we can do.  Maybe
one day he will be able to forgive himself and ask God to deliver him
as the Lord delivered you. Now go find Natalie." He pushed the young man
away from him, gently.

Joe thought to himself, as he watched Nick walk away, "That young man
gives me as much as I try to give him."  His own need for love and
acceptance was huge right now, having been so recently widowed.

The three friends each gave of themselves in different ways to the
others to help fill the emotional needs they had. This had made them a
very close knit family.

Joe felt angry that Nick had been forced to put up with LaCroix for so
many years.  How Nick could still love that monster was beyond him.
He'd like to drive a stake through the old Vampire's heart himself.  He
sighed and went to put on his own walking shoes.

When Grace came downstairs, she was dressed in jeans and a sweater.
Good walking shoes were on her feet.

Joe smiled at her fresh scrubbed look.  She was beautiful with, or
without make-up.  He made a note to tell her that someday.

Nick and Natalie watched, with silly grins, as Joe offered their guest
his  arm.  Grace took it,  and off they went.

Natalie turned back toward Nick, threw her arms around his neck,
and giggled like a school girl.  "They like each other!" she exalted.
Nick smiled and held his wife close. "They sure do.  It was like there
was electricity in the air. Did you feel it?"

Nat nodded against his neck. She took the opportunity to plant a kiss
there.

Nick, in turn, moved to capture her lips in a deep kiss.  "Come on,
let's go get that dinner ready."  They walked arm in arm into the house.

Joe and Grace walked down the path into the forest.  Their route was
fairly level for a ways.  Joe took her to one of his favorite places
where a huge flat-topped rock made a wonderful place to sit under the
trees.  They?d been walking for a bit, so they sat a while to enjoy the
view of the beautiful meadow that opened before them.  After a while,
they went on toward a creek he had told her about.

The trees shaded them with coolness and colored the ground with flecks
of sunlight. "Natalie looks amazingly happy,"  Grace remarked.   "I've
missed you all so much.  It just doesn't seem the same anymore."

Joe replied,  "Nat's great!  She and Nick have overcome so much.
Now they have the life they dreamed of.  Nick's an amazing man. His
Heart's so innocent, yet he has had more experiences than most people
dream of.  He's never lost hope... even when things got really bad.'

Grace looked at him, curiously. "You know the big secret don't you,
Joe?"

"Secret?"  he feigned innocence.

"Yes. Nick and Natalie explained it to me as demon possession."

Joe was surprised.  "They did?"

"Yes.  But, Joe, I know it has a mythological name."   She whispered,
"Vampire..."

"Oh, Grace!" Joe laughed uncomfortably.

"I'm a pathologist, Joe."  She added with a coy smile, "I'm also a big
snoop.  Natalie didn't always take the best care of her journal.  I
figured out Nick years ago.  I cried so many tears in private for those
two.  I didn?t really understand what changed until now,  but I'm so
glad it did."

"It was pure faith, Grace.  The Lord God came and changed Nick...
cleansed him.  Natalie said she saw it all.  That's why they have that
white hair now.  They've seen the face of God."

"Joe, why didn't she ever confide in me?  She must have known I would
never tell anyone."

"Please don't fault Natalie,"  Joe implored.  "It's very dangerous
knowledge. There are creatures who would drain you in a second to keep
that secret."

He saw Grace pale. "Why, is Natalie still alive then?"

"She helped them medically.  Some disease hit them, and she
saved them."

She almost asked "Why?" but then she realized that Nat would have done
anything to save Nick. By saving Nick, she had to save them all.

"It's best not to talk about these things,"  Joe continued.   "Perhaps,
in time, Nick or Natalie will answer more of your questions. Pray for
protection from the Lord.  Let Natalie know what you?ve told me."

He noticed his companion was trembling, so he reached out and pulled her
close to him. "It will be okay.  It will actually help, while you're
here, to be on the inside.  Nick has some wonderful stories to tell."

"This place is a sanctuary, here with these two blessed people. The Lord
promised they would have protection,  and I believe any Christian
believer would also be protected anyway."

Grace stepped back reluctantly.   Being in his arms felt so good.  She
wanted to look into his face. "Ever since I was a child I have
believed,"  she confided in him.  "The Lord's always been a major part
of my life."

Joe smiled. He took her arm, and they continued their walk. "I could
tell.  He shines from your face."

He stopped and turned toward her.  "Grace, life is so short.  My life
has changed so much in the last few months. Experiencing history through
Nick's eyes has opened so many worlds to me."

"Just how old is he?" she asked, suddenly realizing that Nick could be
immensely old.

"Over 800 years," Joe said, watching her face carefully for her
reaction.

"800!"  She  felt her legs start to give out.

Joe noticed, and reached out to gather her close again. "Whoa!
Sorry...  I didn't mean to shock you."

"But he looks like such a boy!" she protested.

Joe smiled. "Yes, that's a by-product of a young, immature man in his
30's being brought across.  It suspended his maturity,  and his father
'creator' treated him like an adolescent all his life.  Now he's free to
grow, mature and have children of his own.  Life will go on and have an
end eventually."

"Is that what he wanted?" Grace asked.

"Yes, more than you know.   For him, eternal life without love was hell.
The kind of 'love' his father gave him was mentally and physically
abusive.  It's a wonder he still has such  a loving, giving heart."

"And you're showing him what a good father is, Joe. That's a
wonderful gift in itself." She reached up and touched his cheek.
"You're a good man."

He smiled, a bit embarrassed. "It's easy to love Nick and Natalie.
Lately, I've needed them just as much as they've needed me."

Grace took a deep breath. "Could you, maybe, need me too, Joe?"

He seemed a bit taken back, but he quickly said, "Yes, Grace, I think I
could need you too... very much so."  He leaned down and gave her a very
sweet, gentle kiss. When he drew back, he added "I'd certainly like it
if we explored the possibilities."

Grace had tears in her eyes.  "You have my blessing to explore,"  she
teased him, with a grin.  Then she remarked, "I used to watch you at
work, Joe, and I wanted to give you so much... but it wasn't our time.
I respected that."

"You're  a wonder, Grace.   I think I'm going to enjoy exploring the
possibilities.  Come on, I guess we?d better get back.  I think dinner's
probably waiting for us."   He took her hand in his.  It felt so good to
have this woman close to him.

Grace asked suddenly, as they walked, "Do you think any of his former
family will try to contact him?"

Joe nodded. "I think it?s a given that his father, LaCroix,  will be
back.  It's something he won't be able to control.  He was warned by
the angels never to try to harm Nick or his family, but those demons
that live in him are obsessed with Nick.  They will try."

As they neared the house, Joe said,  "Let's keep the revelation, that
you know, to ourselves tonight.  We will tell them tomorrow, in the
light of day."

Grace nodded.  "Ok, Joe.  I am so looking forward to visiting and
talking about the baby."

Natalie was setting the table when they came in laughing, still hand
in hand.  Nick was setting wine on the table.   "Well,  I see you two
enjoyed getting reacquainted," he commented.

Joe beamed.  "Yes,  we did."

"Natalie, I'm so glad you invited me up here.  The place and grounds
are just beautiful," Grace gushed.

Joe realized that he was still holding Grace's hand.  He drew it
up to his lips,  bent to kiss her fingertips, then let her go, smiling
into her eyes. He placed his hand on her back.

Grace flashed Natalie a thumbs up and a quick wink.

Nick's eyebrow rose, "Doesn't look like you wasted any time."

"Son, when you get to be my age there's no time to waste," Joe stated.
"I've know for years that Grace and I could mesh, given the right
circumstances, but as she told me earlier, it wasn't our time then. Now
it is. I don't think either one of us wants to waste a minute alone when
we can explore the prospect of being together. I can't explain
it,  but  it sure feels right."

Nick touched Natalie's shoulder,  allowing his fingers to run down her
arm and interlace with her fingers. "I know what you mean.  I think Nat
and I fell in love the first time we laid eyes on each other."

"Actually," Natalie said, "your eyes were closed when I first saw you."
She remembered unzipping the body bag.

Grace said, "I'd love to hear that story."

Joe changed the subject, not wanting to make things to awkward for Nick
and Natalie until they could explain that Grace knew.  "I'm starving.
What's for dinner?"

Everyone laughed at him then took their seats. They ate and talked far
into the night.  They spoke of the department, and cases that Natalie
had been on.  They talked about old friends and acquaintances, and of
the city...

Later that night, as Nick lay in bed holding Natalie close, he said, "I
know you don't like the idea, but I really think I will go back to the
precinct someday, Nat.  I just can't imagine my life without it."

He felt warm tears on his shoulder.  It was the only thing that they
talked about that made her afraid.  They'd talked a lot about it.

Natalie knew it was what he wanted... what he was training for. She
feared that since he was no longer impervious to bullets, she might one
day lose him.  They both knew it could be a fatal career choice.  He
could never survive a bullet to the head as he had that one time.

Nick had promised her that he would always wear a vest.  He knew it was
a possibility, even with his training, that he might act impulsively
some night.  He hadn't told Natalie that he sometime had misgivings
about his choice. The idea that he could die before seeing his children
grow up, was very scary.  Death had always been around him,  but had
never touched him, personally.   Now it was real.  He knew that if it
came naturally, he would not fear it, but he didn't want to lose his
gift of life too soon.  He wanted to grow old with Natalie.

Nick drew her to him and tried to kiss her tears away.  They made
love quietly... slowly... savoring their time together...  tucking the
memories deep into their hearts.


Later, Nick lay with his ear on Nat's stomach, listening for their
Child's heart beat.  It  was a calming pastime, and eventually it lulled
him to sleep.

The next morning, after breakfast, Grace brought out  a tiny sweater and
blanket she'd knitted for the baby. They talked "baby-talk" most of the
day. They laughed and reminisced.  They had a wonderful time.

That evening, on the front porch as they sat listening to one of Nick's
stories, they studied the stars.  Crickets chirped in the background,
lending an aura of peace.

Suddenly, their tranquility was shattered when a long black limo came up
the drive.

Nick was deep in thought,  when he felt Natalie clutch at his arm.
"Lord, protect us,"  she prayed.

end chapter 3  
*****  Jeannie Ecklund  ***** gersknightlady@cs.com