Title:   "Transitions"  (Last Knight spoiler and Ashes to Ashes spoiler)
By: Arletta Asbury
g4akl@charm.net

I'm a relative newbie at Fanfic, so please, remember that
and try to be kind.  It was inspired by my hatred of the ending
of "Last Knight".  I hate it, hate it, hate it!

This story follows my earlier story 'Another Ending'.
If you haven't read it, you may request a copy from me
at the email address given above.

DISCLAIMER:
The characters of Nick, Natalie, Lacroix, etc. are characters of
the Forever Knight show and as such are the property of TPTB.
They are not mine I am just borrowing them for a little while.


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On the day she was to be released from the hospital, a driver
arrived, unannounced.  He said, "Your taxi is waiting."  Natalie
was a little surprised because she hadn't ordered a cab.
However, when questioned, the driver informed her that it was
all arranged and the fare prepaid.  Her purse wasn't at the
hospital, so it was presumably along with her money, keys, Id, and
credit cards,  now locked inside Nick's loft.  She knew
that her landlady would let her into her own apartment where she
had a spare set of keys.  She also knew that it would be several
more hours before any of her co-workers could give her a lift to
her apartment.  So she decided to accept the pre-arranged taxi
ride home and wondered who had been thoughtful enough to make
the arrangements.  The driver waited while the hospital release
paperwork was completed and followed the nurse's aid as Natalie
was wheeled outside to the taxi.  He seemed relieved when she
got out of the wheelchair and entered the car without further
assistance.

The car pulled into the morning traffic as she looked about her
and realized that the parcels accompanying her were the flowers
and gifts she had received over the past few days.  As the car
turned south, then west again, she realized that they weren't
heading for her apartment at all.  Instead they were going in
the direction of the airport.  Natalie thought about questioning
him.  She opened her mouth to speak, then closed it firmly as
she decided to allow him to drive her there without protest.  It
was, after all, *where* she wanted to be going just now, wasn't
it?

He stopped the cab as close as possible to the air Canada ticket
counters.  He got out of the cab, quickly fetched someone with an
airline wheelchair to assist her, and then handed Natalie and her
parcels over to their care before he swiftly departed.

Once inside she mentioned the name Lambert and a manila
envelope appeared from behind the counter.  Inside she found,
among other things, a first class ticket to Paris and a passport.
Even though the passport contained her photo (from her drivers
license she wondered vaguely?) neither it nor the ticket were
issued for the name Natalie Lambert.

She was so preoccupied with her own thoughts, while waiting for
the flight that Natalie said very little and also noticed very
little about the waiting area where she had been carefully
wheeled.  When questioned about her trip, by another passenger
attempting friendly overtures, she evaded answering.  She tried
to sleep during the long flight but found she could not.  Too many
of her questions were unanswered.  'What did Lacroix want?'
'Was Nick with him?' 'What happened that fateful day after she
passed out?' 'What would Nick feel about her now?' 'What did
Lacroix know about the incident?'  Her questions and fears
seemed endless.

<Thankfully, Sydney was being cared for by her friend.  And her
rent wasn't due for another week.>

What Natalie didn't know was that as soon as she was seen
boarding the plane a signal was given and her apartment was
thoroughly stripped.  Even as that happened, the taxi driver
was successfully whammied and no trail was left of her movements
after her departure from the hospital.  Natalie Lambert appeared
to have disappeared from the face of the earth, should anyone
ever go looking for her.

Her plane was met by another driver.  This one had a limo and
kept referring to her as Madame.  Natalie surreptitiously pulled
one of the other items from the manila envelope--a gold wedding
band.  She put it on her finger, feeling somewhat like a spy in
disguise.

He seemed to know where to take her, so Natalie decided once
again not to protest.  At their destination, she found herself
ushered to the door of one of the suites in what was obviously a
very expensive hotel.

She knocked on the suite door and it was opened almost
immediately by Lacroix himself.  He motioned her inside.

"Ah doctor, so good of you to join us." he remarked "but I must
speak with you a moment.  Ummm....Nicholas has not been....well.
I thought, perhaps, your presence could....lift his spirits?
I do not mean to alarm you, but *I* am concerned about his
present state.  Only assurances of your well-being kept him from
doing himself serious harm.  And your presence may improve the
situation.  I seem to have....umm  underestimated your
importance to him.  You have my apologies, doctor.  May I call
you Natalie, by the way?"

Natalie gasped several times during his words.  "Natalie,
yes, okay."  she finally managed.

She swallowed several times before saying, "Where is he?"

"On the balcony", he replied as he indicated the way.

Natalie crossed the room quickly and opened the balcony doors
before stepping out onto it.  The balcony commanded a spectacular
night view of the city but she was oblivious to its beauty.  Natalie
realized that she was actually trembling with emotion.

Nick looked up at the sound of her footsteps and when he saw her
face he froze.  The expressions on his face were many and varied
but Natalie couldn't fathom any of them. Illuminated by a full moon,
they stared at each other for a long moment before Natalie took
a step in his direction.  She found herself enveloped in his
arms before she could even realize that he had moved.  He held
her so tightly that she wondered if she could breathe.

How long they stood clinging to each other, Natalie couldn't
have said but she eventually realized that Nick was weeping and
so was she.

"I'm sorry, so sorry", he began but she interrupted with "It's
not your fault, *I* pushed you too far" when they were both
interrupted by Lacroix clearing his throat.

"Ah Nicholas, Natalie, I took the liberty of arranging the
lease of a large apartment in a rather fashionable but quiet
neighborhood here in Paris.  I also arranged for the shipment
of the contents of your loft, and your apartment, as well as my
own.  The apartment is large enough for all of us and more", he
paused before continuing.

"Urse is recovering nicely.  Thanks in part to your not having
arranged for a premature cremation."  He indicated Natalie.  She
will be arriving in a couple of days with Monsieur Sydney
deBrabant.

For a moment Natalie blinked at the news about Urse then
realized suddenly who Sydney deBrabant was.  Her cat.  Her
passport and the other papers in the envelope had referred to
her as Madame Natalie deBrabant.

Natalie also realized with surprise that Lacroix was trying to
be funny.  He was smiling ever so slightly.  Apparently, he
thought referring to her cat as Monsieur Sydney deBrabant was
amusing.

Nick looked at Lacroix rather quizzically and wondered why
Natalie's cat should suddenly bear *his* name.

"I assure you that your marriage is recorded quite validly in a
small town near Toronto.  Aristotle made all the arrangements.
He also arranged for Sydney's kidnapping.  Let us hope the
Toronto police do not trouble themselves over the theft of a
cat", Lacroix continued.  Nicholas and Natalie were both staring
at him openmouthed.

"What do you mean?" Natalie began, but Lacroix cut her
off by continuing.

"The papers she has brought with her were provided by Aristotle
and refer to Natalie as a writer.  I thought perhaps she should
attempt writing murder mystery novels.  With her forensic
background and occasional assistance from you Nicholas, I think
she might do quite well.  Or at least, enjoy the attempt."

Natalie was beginning to understand how Nick must have felt
with Lacroix dominating his life for so many years.  She might
have felt more like challenging Lacroix about making such
sweeping decisions for her but standing there in Nick's arms,
she couldn't.  She couldn't imaginine being anywhere else or
doing anything else.  This was what she wanted more than anything.
Whatever it took to be with Nick, whatever the price, she was
willing to pay it.

"And you Nicholas, would you prefer to pursue your painting for
a while?  How about teaching archeology again?  Or...I'm sure
the local police could always use someone with your experience.
Do think about it."

"I, myself, am currently negotiating the purchase of a small
radio station.  I find I quite like the Nightcrawler persona
and will arrange for my own radio program again."

Nick realized that he was doing it all again.  Lacroix was
arranging his life, trying to dominate him.  Nick thought they
had gotten past all that.  But now?  Why?  Then Nick turned his
gaze from Lacroix to Natalie's face again and nothing Lacroix
said to him was important right now.  Nothing was as important
as Natalie standing there in his arms.  All he wanted to do was
look at Natalie and hold her.

"Nicholas, I'm sure Natalie is tired after her trip, after all,
she was only released from the hospital a few hours ago.  I
think she would like to bathe and rest now."   Nick and Natalie
stood motionless locked in each others arms.

Lacroix tried again, "We can talk more later and discuss *all*
the ramifications and consider fully whether you or I should
'bring her across' or if you should attempt to live with her
as she is....a mortal.  Right now I think she should get
some rest."

This time Lacroix took Natalie's hand and pulled her away.
He led her inside and indicated one of the bedrooms for her
to use.

She closed the door behind her and observed that her
parcels had been left in that room.  She saw a familiar
coat hung over the back of a chair and realized with
some amusement that Lacroix had practically shoved her into
what was obviously Nick's bedroom.

<Maybe I'll just lie down for a moment, she thought.>
However, as soon as her head touched the pillow she
was fast asleep.

Lacroix returned to Nick who was still standing as
he had been left on the balcony.  He was looking indoors
at the door Natalie had just shut.

Lacroix looked at his son a moment then began, "You
and I should have a little father/son talk.  You seem to
need a little instruction about not losing control and...
ummm...  foreplay."


The End

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g4akl@charm.net
Nick & Nat Packer, Light Cousin