Subject: Story Submission: To Every Thing, There is a Season by Nightlady (N&N)
Date: Fri, 15 May 1998 11:25:23 -0500
From: Marci <clonstar@swbell.net>
Reply-To: forevrnite@hotmail.com
To: ravensaerie@lantabooks.com

This is a case of a story that demanded to be written. It's a bit darker
that most of my stories but still manages to have one section that can
only be describe as 'sappy'. <G>  Hope you enjoy it.

Permission is granted to the JADFE site for archiving.

Disclaimer:  As always, the concept of FK as well as Nick, Nat and all
the others belong to Sony, James Parriot, Paragon, and the rest of TPTB
not to me.  I am only borrowing them for a while and I have no intention
of making any type of profit from them.

To Every Thing, There is a Season (1/2)
By Nightlady
(c)1998

Natalie Lambert sat on the plane watching the billowing clouds passing
below. She was returning to Toronto after a week in the sun. When she'd
left on what was being called an extended vacation, she hadn't been sure
that she would ever be going back. Natalie wasn't one to try and fool
herself. She hadn't gone on vacation. She'd fled after nearly being
killed by Nick's master, LaCroix, and having her heart broken. She'd
needed time to sort out in her mind the events of that Valentine's Day
and those of the days just preceding and following it. The funny part
was that this wasn't the first time she'd fled Toronto because of an
incident in which she'd nearly been killed. The last time, her
relationship with Nick had also played a large part in her desire to get
away.

It had only been a year earlier that she'd had her nearly fatal
encounter with Roger Jameson. At that time, she'd been so desperate to
deny the feelings that she had for Nick, that she'd turned to the first
apparently normal male that had shown up. Unhappily, apparently normal
had turned out to be far from the reality. She shuddered as she thought
about what might have happened if Nick hadn't found her when he did.
That moment in the greenhouse, when Nick had pulled her into his arms,
Natalie had known in the deepest part of her soul that she was
hopelessly and unashamedly in love with him. The way that he'd held her,
the words he'd murmured in her ear, had done more to calm her than
anything else had done.

Now, here she was again having nearly escaped death.

She sighed as she remembered the things she'd said to Nick when her
memories of that night at Azure had returned. She'd been hurt, angry and
confused when she recalled, not only her encounter with LaCroix, but
also the way Nick had calmly denied any feelings for her to his master
after having told her, just a day earlier, that he loved her. She'd
believed him that night in her apartment and his actions, the tender way
he'd held and kissed her, had seemed to reinforce his words. After
hearing him at Azure, coldly denying any feelings for her, she didn't
know what to believe. Her heart was telling her that he had to be lying
to LaCroix, but she just wasn't sure. When she'd gone to his loft, she'd
meant to stay calm. Once there, however, all the pain had welled up and
she'd ended up raging at Nick and then storming out into the bright
sunlight, ignoring his pleas for her to stay and let him try and
explain.  She'd called her office, arranged for time off, and been on a
plane to Bermuda in less than two hours. She'd ignored the almost
constant ringing of both her regular and cell phones and her plane had
left long before the sun had grown low enough for Nick to be able to
seek her out in person.

She'd spent most of her time during the past ten days laying in the sun
and thinking. Her first reaction had been one of instinctive
self-preservation. To that end, she'd had mentally composed a letter of
resignation. She'd start a new life somewhere else, somewhere with lots
of bright sunshine and where no handsome blond vampires lurked to steal
her heart. It was only when she realized that she was sitting on the
beach with tears running down her face and sobbing uncontrollably that
she knew she could not bear to never see Nicholas Knight again. She
stopped trying to deny that she was attracted to Nick and wanted their
relationship to be more than 'just friends'.  She knew that to totally
fulfill what she'd thought was their mutual desire for one another
would, beyond doubt, place her in the position of being either killed or
brought across, yet she still ached for him. 'Because no matter what, I
love him with every fiber of my being.' She'd admitted to herself.

This realization had forced her to acknowledge the almost certainty
that, if she hadn't totally alienated him with her behavior, it would
mean stepping into the darkness of Nick's world. Yet, to her thinking,
any existence that held the love that she'd felt from him that
Valentine's Eve night was not dark. Natalie knew that so long as Nick
was a part of her life, she would be content to bask in the warming
light of his love.

The flight attendants were moving down the aisle of the plane and Nat
took a deep breath as she gave a final, careful thought to what she was
about to do.  Her heart told her that her decision was the only possible
one and she put her seatback in the upright position, getting ready to
land and to face her future. She said a silent prayer that she hadn't
waited too long, that her anger and behavior at that last meeting with
Nick had not driven him from Toronto.

Nick got out of bed, he'd been unable to sleep anyway, and padded
downstairs to the kitchen. He hadn't really rested since Nat had stormed
out of the loft over a week ago. He had stood there, powerless because
of the sunlight outside to go after her, calling her name.  He'd spent
the next several hours trying to reach her by phone to no avail. That
night, when he'd at last been able to go to her apartment she'd was
already gone.  He'd gone to the morgue in search of her and found out
from Grace that Nat had taken an extended leave of absence. Grace seemed
to think that she'd be back about three weeks, but Nick feared that she
might never return. He'd spent the ten days since then praying that she
would call, but his phone had stayed silent. Nick sighed and pulled a
bottle from the fridge. Eschewing a glass, he took several long swallows
from it as he crossed to the couch.

Sitting down, the bottle cradled in his lap, he allowed his thoughts to
drift back to that night at Azure. The thought of what might have
happened to her chilled Nick to the core.  If he hadn't gotten to Azure
when he did, Nick had no doubts that LaCroix would have drained her and
then left her dead body for Nick to find. Nick had lied to LaCroix to
save her life, and hurt her terribly in the process. Now, she was gone
and there was no certainty that he'd ever see her again. In 800 years,
he had never known such misery.  Nick knew he could find Nat if he
really tried, he had the resources to hire the best private detectives
around, but he wasn't sure that he had the right to do so. He admitted
to himself that he was, in fact, afraid that she would reject him if he
did find her. Nick knew that he could not exist if that happened.

He tried to figure out how everything had gone so wrong. He'd hoped, in
the first days following Valentine's Day, that his efforts to make her
forget his own deep love for her and the ordeal with LaCroix had worked.
Even though it was painful to him, he'd drawn comfort from the fact that
she was safe and he could at least still be a friend to her. He wished
now that he had admitted his love for Nat to LaCroix and brought her
across. Even though it would have meant condemning her to an existence
without the sun, at least he would have her with him.

Two weeks after Valentine's Day, Nat had stormed in and then out of the
loft, her memory back.  The fact that it had, ultimately, only lasted
two weeks told him just how strong an individual Nat was. Not that he'd
had any doubt of that, her strength was but one of the things that had
drawn him to her.  He'd fought against the attraction he felt for her,
but he had always known in his heart that he was deeply in love with
her. He longed to wake with her in his arms, to know all of her and,
although a part of him wished to deny it, to have her beside him for
eternity. He'd existed for almost 800 years and never felt this way
toward another woman, not even Alyssa, who he'd married. Nat was a ray
of golden light in his otherwise dark existence. When, finally, he'd
admitted to her how much he cared for her, how much he loved her, he had
never been happier. Even though he had refused, at that time, to risk
her by fully consummating their love, they had been able to find some
satisfaction for their burning need for each other. Nick leaned his head
back against the couch's back, red tinted tears of loss silently leaking
from his eyes, remembering that one wonderful night.

Nat gathered her bags from the carousel at the airport and headed for
her car in the parking garage. She shoved the bags into the trunk, got
in the car and started it. No one knew she was back in Toronto. Hoping
that she would not find it empty, she drove to Nick's loft.

The sound of the lift's motor engaging startled Nick from his reverie.
He concentrated and felt his heart thump as he recognized Nat's
heartbeat. Sitting the bottle on the table, he stood and started toward
the lift door, then stopped, unsure of why Nat was here. Used to so many
disappointments over the centuries, he feared that she had come to tell
him that she was leaving Toronto for good. Carefully hiding his fear
beneath a placid surface, he waited for her to arrive.

Nat could feel her palms sweating as she rode up in the lift.  She knew
that Nick was still here, the Caddie parked neatly in the garage had
told her that much. Now that she was here, she wondered at the wisdom of
just barging in on Nick in the middle of the day. For all she knew he
wouldn't want to see her after the way she'd treated him or he might be
with Janette. Either way, she'd feel like a fool. When the lift came to
a halt, she hesitated for a moment before grasping the door and opening
it.  Her eyes widened with surprise as she saw Nick, wearing a rumpled
pair of black silk pajamas, standing a short distance from the door.
Her eyes met his, and suddenly deep inside, Nat knew that coming here
had not been a mistake, it had been the best thing she could have done.
She stepped forward, and softly spoke his name.

Nick stood still hearing in her voice all of her feelings for him. He
was afraid to move; afraid to speak, afraid that if he did he'd wake up
and find that this was nothing more than a wonderful dream. He watched
as she approached him, his eyes speaking the volumes that his mouth
could not.

Nat stood in front of Nick seeing the mixture of pain, hope and love in
his eyes. "I spent a lot of time thinking this past week," she said. "I
even, at one point, decided that I should just pack up and leave
Toronto."  She swallowed and then, seeing the burst of pain that flitted
across Nick's face, hurriedly continued. "That decision lasted all of
about 5 seconds, until I realized that by doing that I would never see
you again."  She could feel tears forming in her eyes and dropped her
gaze. "I guess the one thing that I truly discovered this week is that
no matter what the risks, or what I might have to give up, I want...no,
I need to be with you."  Nat lifted her head, the tears slipping
silently down her cheeks. "The question now is, do you want to be with
me or did you mean what you told LaCroix?"

Nick had listened first in anguish then with growing hope as Nat spoke.
He could feel his breathing increase, as his love for her demanded to be
released. When she finished speaking and stood looking at him, he slowly
reached out and wiped the tears from her face. Cupping her face in his
hands, he marveled at the good fortune that had brought him to her three
years earlier. "If I hadn't convinced LaCroix that I didn't love you, he
would have killed you." He told her softly. "I had to lie to him. I'm
sorry I didn't explain everything to you, but I thought that it would be
better, safer for you if I could make you forget."

Nat looked into his face, "Then when you told me that you loved me and
wanted me, that was the truth?" She could hear her heart pounding with
relief.

"I love you and want to be with you more than I have ever wanted
anything in my existence, even my mortality." He whispered as he leaned
forward and captured her lips with his own. He kissed her with great
tenderness, knowing that he had to be truthful with her, had to be
certain that she fully understood the risk of loving him. He felt her
response to him, felt her need and her desire. Breaking the kiss, he
held her against him, then led her to the soft leather couch.

Nat leaned against him feeling his arms cuddling her against him. "I was
so afraid that you wouldn't be here. I'm sorry for how I treated you
before I left." She confessed. The kiss he gave her told her more
eloquently than words that he had forgiven her.

"I can't let you walk into this blindly, Nat. I love and care about you
too much." Nick said, as they snuggled in each other's arms. "If we are
to truly be together, it will mean one of two things."

Nat nodded her head. "I know, I thought about that, too." She looked up
at him, a sad smile on her lips. " I know that for us to be together, to
make love to one another, means that I'll most likely end up being
drained by you and dying or by you bringing me across into your world."
She saw the sadness in his eyes, and reached up to lovingly caress his
face.  "I know how much you hate what you are, how you feel that you are
somehow evil, but I don't share that opinion."

"Nat, there are things that I've done, that I fear will cause you to
loathe me. If we make love and I take your blood, neither one of us will
have any secrets from the other. I couldn't bear to have you hate me."
Nick said, as he leaned his cheek against her soft, tousled hair.

"I know that you've done terrible things in the past, Nick, but they
don't matter to me. I know the person you are now, and that person is
good, not evil. I could never hate you for the past, it would be like
hating myself." Nat spoke softly, but the sincerity of her words rang
out. "I want to make love to you, fully and completely.  I'm willing to
be a part of your world." She looked into his eyes. "I'm not afraid of
your world, Nick. To me, trading the light of the sun for the ability to
fully be with you is a pretty good deal." She laid her hand on his.
"Besides, I still fully intend to find a cure, it'll just be for both of
us."

Nick looked into her eyes and nodded, then lifted her hand to his lips.
"I want you that much and more." He said. Taking her by the hand, he led
her to the stairs. "If you change your mind at any point, just tell me
and I'll stop." He could feel his desire for her burning in his veins.

Nat smiled at him, a smile full of love and joy with no trace of sorrow.
"I won't change my mind."

Together, they climbed to the bedroom.  There, Nick took her again in
his arms, kissing her with a passion that he'd not felt in centuries. He
sighed with pleasure as she met his passion with a fire of her own. His
tongue eagerly parted her soft lips, seeking and finding the warm
moistness of her mouth. He caught his hand in her hair, holding her
firmly, but with great gentleness as he explored her mouth, tasting the
sweetness of her. He could feel her hands as they roamed along his back,
even as her body molded against him.

Nat felt her world constrict until all she was aware of was Nick. Nick's
hands moving along her body and holding her head. Nick's tongue as he
kissed her with a passion she had only dreamed of existing. Nick's firm,
cool body pressing against her own flushed one. She gave herself over to
her feelings, surprising herself with the wanton way she explored the
planes and curves of his body. Boldly, she reached up and undid the
buttons of his pajama top, sliding her fingers over the smooth skin of
his chest and back. She could feel his body tremble as her hands
caressed his skin. As his hand found her breast and began to knead and
play with it, she moaned deep in her throat.

Nick could feel Nat's arousal and it fanned his own desire into flames
of need. He wanted nothing more than to lose himself in the taste and
feel of her, but he knew that he had to have control to ensure that he
would stop in time to be able to bring her across. Regretfully, he at
last broke the kiss.

"Nat, you have to be certain that this is what you want." He said, as he
lifted her face to look deeply into her eyes. "Once I drink from you,
drain you to the point of near death, there is no turning back. You
either have to be brought across or you will die." He stroked her cheek,
trying to not let his overwhelming desire for her influence her
decision.

She looked at him, love shining in her eyes. "I understand, and I'm
sure. I want to be with you, Nick. Forever."

He closed his eyes, and when he reopened them they were shining gold,
his beast released. Nat looked at him, and then laid her head against
his chest. "I am not afraid of you. I know what you are, and I love
you."

Nick lifted her in his arms and laid her on the bed. "I promise you that
I'll take care of you. I won't let what happened with Richard happen to
you." He said, as he tenderly stroked her face. 'Or what happened to
Alyssa', he silently promised.

Nat looked trustingly at him. "Thank you. That was the one fear that I
had in making this decision." She blushed slightly. "I want to make love
to you, Nick. I want to know all of you. I love you. I love both the man
and the vampire."

Nick kissed her softly. "I have never known anyone like you. When you
left, I was so afraid that I had lost you. I love you, and I will love
you forever." Nick could hear his voice breaking with emotion. LaCroix
had told him that vampires couldn't love, but Nick knew now that LaCroix
was wrong. "I have to have control of my beast to do this," he explained
to Nat. "If I try it while we are making love, I might not be able to
stop in time. When you come back to me, then we will be one, forever."

Nat nodded her understanding and turned her head, allowing Nick free
access to the smooth, white column of her slender throat.  She only
gasped slightly as she felt the sharp prick of his fangs, and then her
mind was immersed in Nick's feelings and memories. She saw the many
times he'd killed, felt his anguish over those deaths and, more strongly
than all the others, she experienced the depth of his love for her. She
clung to that, while trying to send her own feelings of love back to
him, as the darkness overcame her.

Nat suddenly found herself at the edge of a lake. Before her stood an
open doorway and, just in front of the door, Nat recognized a figure
that she'd not seen in many years. With a cry of joy, she hurried toward
the person.

"Is it really you, daddy?" Nat said, tears running down her cheeks.

The man folded her into his embrace. "Yes, Nattie, it's me." He kissed
the top of her head. "Your mother and brother are waiting for you
inside. Come, with me and we'll all be together again."

Nat started forward but stopped as a sudden feeling of unease swept over
her. "I'll come, but I can't stay. I have to go back. Nick needs me."
She saw the sorrow that filled her father's eyes.

"If you come with me you can never go back, Nattie." He said quietly.
"If you return to your Nick, there is a chance that you may never be
allowed to join us. You must decide."

Nat looked at the beautiful light that was streaming from the door. A
part of her was drawn to it, but her heart knew what her decision had to
be. "I'm sorry, daddy. I have to go back to Nick. I love him and I want
to be with him. He is my happiness."

Her father nodded. "I knew that would be your answer, but I had to make
sure that you had a choice." Once again he kissed her. "Go and remember
that there is nothing stronger than love. You and Nick share a powerful
love, use it and perhaps one day you will both have your heart's
desire."

Nat turned and began to walk away.

 When the first taste of Nat's blood filled his mouth, Nick was
immediately lost in the warmth of the love he felt from her. All of her
past, every hurt and every triumph she'd ever known was now a part of
him, too. He savored the knowledge of her, but it was her love for him
that outshone everything else. He drank deeply, sending his own thoughts
of love to her. Nick stopped drinking when he felt Nat slip into deep
unconsciousness. He listened as her heart struggled to carry the little
bit of blood left in her body and knew that unless he gave her his own
blood, she would soon die. He also knew that Nat had to make the
ultimate choice to return to him.

Opening his wrist, he collected a glass of blood. Lifting her into his
arms, he placed the glass to her lips. Memories of how he had done this
with Alyssa caused him to say a silent prayer that Nat would indeed come
back to him. At first, it seemed as if she would not. Then, just as Nick
was beginning to despair, Nat swallowed.  In moments, her eyelids
fluttered open and Nick was gazing into her softly glowing, golden eyes.

Nat saw the relief that washed over Nick's features and the tremendous
love in his eyes. She smiled, her heart calm, knowing that her decision
had been the right one. She could feel the change in her; the colors of
the room seemed to glow slightly and she was aware that she could hear
many small sounds that she'd never noticed before. All this was pushed
to the back of her mind as she felt Nick's lips close over hers.

Nick drew Nat into a deep, passionate embrace, his tongue plundering her
mouth as his desire was at last unleashed. He felt her respond and
carefully, he teased her fangs into dropping, thrilling at the unabashed
moan of pleasure that emanated from her throat. He could sense, through
the newborn link that they would share for as long as they both existed,
that she was as fervent as he to finally consummate their love. Nick was
determined not to rush this moment; he had waited for so long to be able
to make love to Nat, that he wanted to savor each exquisite sensation to
the fullest.

As Nick's tongue caused her fangs to drop for the first time, Nat felt a
wave of intense pleasure run through her body.  Never had she imagined
that anything so wonderful could exist. She was aware of a mental
connection to Nick that both calmed and excited her at the same time.
Knowing that she would never again be totally alone in the world calmed
her but, at the same time, the mental link seemed to intensify every
delectable feeling that Nick's mouth and hands were producing. She could
feel her whole body crying out for him, wanting to feel him in her and
to know all that he was. As he removed her clothing, slowly dropping
kisses on each newly revealed inch of flesh, she arched against him. She
lay back absorbing each of the feelings that coursed through her. She
moaned as Nick briefly halted his attentions to her, but when she saw
that he was merely divesting himself of his own clothing she moved to
assist him. It took them several minutes to accomplish this task, as
neither of them could refrain from touching and kissing one another's
bodies.  At last, they both stood nude beside the bed.

"I want to make this special for you, Nat." Nick said as he gently laid
her back on the bed. He joined her and softly trailed his fingers along
her supple curves. "I want you to know exactly how much you mean to me."

Nat ran her fingers through his hair. "I do know, Nick. When I had to
choose, to come back to you or to go through the doorway, I knew in my
heart that there was only one option I could take. I had to be with you
and I knew that your love would always keep me safe and make me happy."

"I pray that I never cause you to feel otherwise." Nick said as he
claimed her mouth with his own. He dropped his lips to her throat and
then down to her soft breasts. As Nat moaned with delight he took first
one nipple, then the other, into his mouth. He sucked on each, and
teased them to hardened nubs with his tongue. At the same time, his hand
slowly stroked the firm, creamy flesh of her inner thighs before seeking
the wiry mass of curls that guarded her innermost core. His gently
probing fingers found her slick moistness and wetting them, he began to
softly stoke her clit.

Nat gasped as Nick began to lightly stroke her, causing soft waves of
delicious tension to emanate from her womb throughout her body. This,
combined with his careful attentions to her breasts, caused her fangs to
once again descend and her eyes to glow a deep golden color.  As Nick
kissed and licked her body, his lips like soft velvet against her skin,
she lost herself in the flood of pleasure she was experiencing.   She
reached for Nick's hard manhood and closed her hand around him. She felt
his pleasure at this action; both in the shiver that ran through his
body and in the mental link she now shared with him. To be able to feel
his pleasure only increased her own and she cried out wordlessly at the
joy of it.

Nick slowly increased the speed and pressure of his strokes, stoking the
fires that raged in both of them until he could no longer deny his need
to feel his shaft surrounded by the taut slickness of Nat's core. He
deftly slid his hand away from her just as he eased his thick, throbbing
member inside of her. The upward thrust of her hips enabled him to bury
his cock deeply in her.

Nat felt Nick slide his cock inside her and eagerly accepted him fully.
This was what she had dreamt of happening for three long years and her
happiness was so intense she felt tears leaking from her eyes. Nick
softly kissed them away, murmuring words of love to her, and slowly
began to move in her. She wrapped her legs around his waist, meeting his
every thrust with her own. Her hands roamed over his body, pausing to
play with his nipples before moving downward to grasp his butt. She
loved the feel of him in her. He filled her completely and with each
thrust she felt both his pleasure and her own.  Together they climbed to
heights of pleasure that neither had ever dreamed existed.  They held
themselves at this level for many minutes, until Nick felt Nat's
overwhelming urge for blood. Kissing her softly, he turned his head,
baring his neck to her. "Drink my love," he urged, "and know me as
completely as I know you."

Nat hesitated for only a moment before her new vampiric instincts took
over and she sank her fangs into Nick's throat. Her action triggered
both of their orgasms, the mental link magnifying them until both cried
out with release. Nick slid his hand beneath Nat's head, holding her in
position to drink the blood she needed, even as he urged her to do so.
Only when he could sense that her hunger had abated sufficiently did he
at last draw away from her.

Nat realized that the images she'd received when Nick had taken her
blood were but a fraction of what tasting his blood provided. Now she
knew Nick in a way that no two mortals could ever know one another. She
knew his dreams, dreams that revolved around her and a rather large
number of golden or auburn haired children. 'If he thinks for one minute
I'm going to spend THAT much time pregnant!' Nat thought, only to feel
Nick's gentle mental laugh and a sudden reduction to a more manageable
number of children in his hopes.  'Someday, I promise you.' Nat sent
back to him.  His love caressed her and she knew that she would never
regret her decision to be with him.

Nat's eyes returned to their soft blue color, as her whole body seemed
to float in a warm tide of love. She gazed into Nick's now clear blue
eyes and knew more joy than she'd experience in the whole of her life.
"Please tell me that making love is going to be this good every time we
do it." She said smiling.

Nick laughed and pulled her close to him. "Oh no, my dearest heart. It
will get even better." He kissed her as she smiled up at him and
snuggled against him. Reaching down, he drew a cover over them and they
rested.

The End

Marci C (aka Nightlady) --  Proud Survivor of  Wars 8&9
N&NP; MadNat; Sr Delight -DSS Convent; KHS; NA; V4S; TxKD;KB;  FKXS;
GWDFC;NA email: clonstar@swbell.net , forevrnite@ rocketmail .com
Web page: http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Hollow/3128/