The Last knight and Beyond 

by Olivia Jean Ecklund 
Chapter 7 


Three months later, the bride and groom stood in the light of the bright full 
moon, accompanied by a few torches. They pledged their love to each other among 
their friends. Joe was best man, and Grace was Maid of Honor. Tracy and Vachon 
were there, though they stood off a bit, and so were many precinct co-workers. 

Natalie had a beautiful 12th century, white gown on and Nick was dressed like a 
knight; with sword and all. On lookers just thought it was a play on his name. 
They did not know it was because that was who Nick was in his heart. 

Fathe Rochefort married them. 

Reese walked Natalie down an isle between rows of chairs, then took his place at 
Nick's side, pride radiating from him. He prayed that all would be well and that 
Nick would have the control he needed to make tonight a blessed event. He knew 
he would be holding his breath. 

He still had his house, and he had learned to go there on occasion to give the 
'kids1 some privacy. He dreaded having to stay there for days on end. It was 
still too soon. He pushed his thoughts aside and concentrated on the wedding. 

Gazing into each other's eyes, Nick and Natalie spoke words of love and devotion 
and then were pronounced Man and Wife. The company of friends held candles. 
Flowers surrounded them. A warm breeze caressed them. It was late, about 9:00 
pm, because of summer hours, but they had a band and dancing. 

Amidst garden torches and candles, the Bride and Groom danced together as one. 
They didn1't see or hear anything around them. It was only them and their skin 
touching at the palms of their hands and Nick's hand at her waist. She was 
touching the cool skin at his neck. The music had finished long before they 
realized it, and the crowd of friends laughed warmly at them. 

They cut the cake, and Nick forced a tiny bit of it down. The wine was served by 
Vachon, discreetly, from two bottles of red wine. Nick took a sip and his eyes 
widened. It was Natalie's blood. Her eyes were laughing with pleasure as he 
received her gift. "Thank you," he whispered against her lips. He fed from the 
glass, which Vachon kept filling by slight of hand. 

The bouquet was finally thrown, and Grace caught it. Much to everyone's 
surprise, Joe caught the garter. The look of surprise and fear that crossed his 
face made everyone laugh. Grace was urged to dance with him. She slipped into 
his arms. He was very stiff and uncomfortable. 

"Relax, Captain. It's just a dance. I understand that all this is too soon for 
you. The crowd's only having some fun. Tomorrow we each go back to our own 
lives," she reassured him. 

Joe relaxed, and they continued to dance and talk a bit. At the song's 
conclusion, he released her. "Thank you, Grace," he said quietly, feeling guilty 
for having enjoyed himself so much. They went their separate ways. Both would 
have dreams to keep them company that night. 

Photos of everything were, taken. Finally, Nick tugged at Natalie. "Lets go," he 
whispered. 

She turned to smile at him, "I thought you1d never ask." 

In no time at all they were heading for the Caddie, only to discover that it was 
covered in tissue paper flowers and, to Nick's horror, tin cans were tied to the 
back bumper. Natalie laughed at the look on his face. Amidst falling bird seed 
and well wishes, they speed away through the darkness toward home. 

Nick had wanted to give Natalie a wonderful honeymoon, but she told him that she 
felt safer in the loft. It would give them all the privacy they needed and they 
would have the supplies Nick needed to feed on. 

Nick pulled up into the Loft garage and helped Natalie out of the car. He swung 
her up into his arms. She laughed with pleasure as he fought to punch in the 
code for the lift. Finally inside, he captured her lips. They nearly tumbled out 
into the room when the lift door opened. Nick set her down on the floor and she 
squealed with happiness as she found their apartment full of roses: Blood red 
ones intertwined with pure white ones. 

"Oh, Nick, they're prefect!" She caressed his cheek with her fingers and took 
one of each, smelling them. She kept them in her hand as she took pity on his 
nervousness and went to the frig to get another of the special bottles. 

She poured him a drink and watched the gratification flutter across his face. 
Finally he took her hand and led her up the stairs toward their bedroom. They 
took another special bottle with them. Natalie had been able to store two units 
of blood, and Vachon had taken care of the bottling process. 

With fingers that shook slightly, Nick slowly undid the row of pearl buttons at 
the back of her dress. He leaned to kiss her bare shoulders as he slid the dress 
from them. Candle light danced off them and her dark reddish brown tresses. As 
her dress dropped to the floor, Natalie stepped away from it and turned toward 
him. She wore a beautiful white-lace teddy. 

"Natalie, you're so breathtakingly beautiful," he whispered. He kissed her, 
gently tasting her lips and mouth, exploring with his tongue. He drew her to him 
and she ran her hands up his sides and to the front of his shirt. As she undid 
the buttons at the shoulders of his uniform, the tunic fell away. She slipped 
her hands over his cool chest. He moaned in pleasure against her lips. 

He moved away long enough to kick off his sandals and undo the leggings. Nat 
followed to help him. 

Slowly... and with great care, they gently undressed each other. Finally Nick 
picked his beautiful bride up and carried her to his bed. He laid her down, 
poured himself another small glass of bloodwine and drank it down. Natalie 
watched as bliss spread across his face. It was her blood that nourished his 
body. She reached out, took the glass and sat it on the nightstand, then she 
took his hands and drew him down to her. 

Gently they explored each other. Touch, taste and smell, caress after caress 
brought their bodies closer and closer until they became one. Nick sent a prayer 
heavenward, "God, please don't let me hurt her." Their movements became more 
rapid, their hands clutched at each other, their lips bruised each other. 
Passion ignited into a torrent of emotion that engulfed them. 

Natalie looked deep into Nick's eyes and saw them turn to amber. Wanting to 
pacify him, she spoke in words of love, soothing the beast.. not allowing it to 
take over. She bared her neck to him, "Only take a little, Nick," she instructed 
him through her breathless passion. 

Nick drew back his head, fangs bared. He struck firmly burying his fangs into 
her neck. Passion swept over them. They became each other and saw the other's 
love. Natalie was ready for the images this time. She knew Nick and loved him 
for all he was and had fought to achieve. She saw his bond with her. 

Nick saw himself in her mind, the shining Knight. She saw him at her side 
holding babies that they would one day have. He was overwhelmed by her love. He 
drank deeply for only a moment, and their bodies reached a climax that brought 
cries of extreme pleasure. Nick threw his head back and growled in such ecstasy 
that Natalie found herself laughing with the joy of it. They clung to each other 
as their breathing returned to normal. Natalie held Nick tightly, not letting 
him move away... He let her hold him, and his unusually quiet heart beat quite 
rapidly for a few moments. 

Nick and Natalie gasped for breath. He laid his cheek against her breast and she 
felt blood tears run between her breasts... tears of relief that they had made 
love and she was still alive and safe. Eventually, Nick slipped to the side and 
rolled to his back pulling her to him. She laid her cheek against his shoulder 
so she could reach up, kiss his chin and nuzzle his ear. They drifted off to 
sleep. 

Nick whispered before slipping into sleep, "Thank you, Lord." 

They were awakened late the next afternoon by the phone. Nick reached out 
fumbling for it, "Hello? Pop!" Nick smiled down at his sleepy bride. She 
snuggled closer to him. "Yeah...Were fine." He held the phone toward Natalie, 
"Hi, Pop," she called. 

Nick could hear Joe let out a deep breath. "It worked, Pop!" 

No one needed to explain what 'it' was. 

"Nick, I prayed that God would be with you and Natalie. I'll let you go. I just 
needed to know you were okay. Check in with me tomorrow, please?" 

"Sure, Pop." Nick hung up the phone and hugged Natalie to him. "Good morning, my 
beautiful Wife." Natalie caressed his chest with her fingers. "Good morning, my 
wonderful Husband," she said, then added, "I'm glad he called. He's probably 
been sweating the whole thing all night." 

Nick chuckled, "You're probably right, Nat." 

"Nick, do you realize how blessed we have been?" she asked him. 

He turned so he could face her, propped his head up on his hand and looked into 
her eyes. "Yes, Nat. In my heart I am beginning to believe salvation is possible 
for me." 

"Really, Nick! Really?" she asked, tears of joy running down her face. She 
hugged him to her. "Just ask God to forgive you. Let His son, Jesus into your 
heart. I'm your wife and we shared more than any human pair can share. It was a 
gift to us, to confirm our love and let you know that if you ask for forgiveness 
we could possibly live as human husband and wife." 

She cautioned him, "If you do become human again you will lose the ability to 
feel and see our love through our bond. You won't be able to fly or hypnotize 
anyone. Your extra strength may be gone." 

He stopped her with a kiss. "All those things are true, but to walk in the sun, 
to make love to you without fear of killing you, to hold our babies in my 
arms... I can learn to deal with the loss of strength, Nat. If I have to, I can 
live like many handicapped people live. Filling my life with you, I'll learn to 
adjust. Most of all, I'll grow old with you and I won't live for centuries 
afterwards with only half a soul left. You know coming across with me is no 
solution." 

She nodded, "Yes, Nick, I know. I will never ask that of you for as long as we 
live. I promise. It's out of our hands. You will either be human or Vampire. 
Janette's cure will work or it won't. We'll take it one day at a time. You will 
know when it is time for you to reach out to the Lord." 

Natalie kissed him, then swung out of bed and went into the bathroom. 

Nick smiled, watching her beautiful body move until the door closed behind her. 
He hoped out of bed and went downstairs to check on Sidney. He took the half 
bottle of Natalie's blood and stored it in the frig, preferring to feed on 
another vintage, and save Nat's blood for special occasions. 

He went to stand by the window and felt the warmth of the sun that radiated 
through the closed blinds. Curious, he raised the blind an inch or two and then 
slowly reached out a finger. The hot sun stung it and he jerked it back, 
expecting it to see blisters, but there wasn't a mark on it. He turned to shout 
up at Natalie, then stopped himself. What if it didn't last? It would only hurt 
to giver her hope. He closed the window and went to feed Sidney. 

Natalie came down the stairs wrapped in the white terry robe. Nick was happy 
that she liked it. He'd bought it on an impulse. She had been urging him to try 
something other than black and gray.... yet once out of the box, the pure white 
had made him nervous. He'd never tried to wear it... to pure for his taste. Now 
as he watched his wife come toward him, he was glad that he had bought it. It 
was a definite improvement over the pink nightmare she had worn when she had 
occasionally spent the night sleeping on the couch. 

Natalie kissed him as she passed. He watched her munch on a breakfast of cereal 
and fruit while he drank a glass of bloodwine. Nick thought of the special 
bottle he had placed in the frig and his fangs itched. He forced the thoughts 
out of his mind. Then he realized that Natalie was staring at him. 

"What?" He asked, fidgeting. 

She smiled and looked away, "Sorry, I never tire of looking at you, and dressed 
only in those black silk pajama bottoms... Well...." She let her voice trail 
off. 

"I know what you mean, Nat, but we don't have too much bottled blood left, and 
you can't afford to lose much more. Remember, I wasn't supposed to take it 
directly from the source and risk losing control again. We've talked about it." 

Natalie reached up to touch the two partially healed fang marks on her neck. 
"Why should you have all the fun. The bond vision was amazing, Nick. I needed to 
know how much you love me. I need to see it and feel it. I will never doubt the 
depth of those feelings again, nor will I be jealous of Janette if she should 
come back into our lives. Somehow I knew The Lord would protect us from evil. 
Nick, did you feel as if you were expelled from me, after only a moment?" 

Nick let the moment replay in his mind. "I don't know if expelled was quite the 
word. I just felt so satisfied that I drew away expressing my pleasure audibly." 


Nick went over to Natalie, who was sitting on a high bar stool. He got close 
enough to hold her against him. She laid her face against his chest. 

"I guess I would described it as a force. Satisfaction for the vampire was so 
swift that he seemed go to sleep and I was free to feel all the physical 
satisfaction that we had together. I was free with you for that final moment 
that we were one. I almost felt human." 

End Chapter 7 

By Jeannie Ecklund Gersknightlady@cs.com