Title:  Where, oh Where Has My Lush Nick Gone?
Author: Cousin Shelley and Arletta Asbury

Time    After "The Great Escape" and "LC Orders Flowers";
        but before "LC Has a Drink"


Putting the Registry book into the safe, Shelley left the war room
and got on the elevator.  She was still distracted and thinking
about the fight that Cousin Toni and her LaCroix had just had.  She
certainly didn't envy Cousin Toni taking care of *that* one!  Of
course, she had problems of her own with "Nick" to worry about, and
just thinking about him made her sigh.

Arriving on the first floor, she looked around the lobby area.
Scowling slightly, she crossed over to the bar area and searched
the floor.  She found 4 empty bottles and an empty liquor cabinet,
but no Nick.  She winced at the thought of asking the Cousinly
leaders to buy more alcohol, they had already put in a special
order for it, and he had drank it dry *again*.  How could she
explain the need for *more*??

Her search of the bar area yielded no one, and she was getting
concerned.  "Where is he *now*?" she muttered to herself.  Seeing
Arletta sitting at one of the tables with her LaCroix, she wandered
over.

"Have either of you seen Nick?" she asked, trying not to sound too
frantic.

"Which one?" Arletta asked dryly.  Shelley just looked in the
direction of the bar and Arletta grinned.  "No I haven't seen
that one since he was passed out on the floor of our room earlier.
Maybe he's still there?"

"Hmmmm, no, he was down here in the lobby when Cousin Toni came
to register...." she trailed off, lost in thought.

LaCroix was concerned with the conversation between the two cousins.
If Nick really had wandered off, it could mean trouble.  "Why don't
you go check the room anyway, Shelley?" he gently suggested.  "He
may have gone back up there.  Arletta, why don't you try the rec
room?"

Shelley nodded.  "Yes, he may have gone back there."  She turned
and headed for the elevator.  Arletta followed her out of the
bar.


********

"He's not in the rec room, or anywhere on the second floor," Arletta
proclaimed, the first to arrive back at the table with LaCroix.
"You know where he is, don't you?" she asked him.

"Let's just say I have an idea of where he *isn't*," LaCroix replied.

"And?"

"I don't think he's in the building," he said sighing heavily.  "But
I could be wrong, there isn't as much of a link between *this*
Nick and I."

The elevator doors opened to a very worried Shelley.  "He's not in
the room, and I can't find him *anywhere*" she said.  "Where could
he have gone to?"

"A bar, perhaps?" LaCroix said, pointing to 4 empty bottles laying on
the bar top and an empty cupboard above.  "It appears we have run out
of our supply".

Shelley and Arletta both sighed heavily at the sight, knowing that
it was likely LaCroix was right.

"We have to go out looking for him" Shelley said, dreading the very
thought of searching for a drunk vampire in a large city where
daylight never seemed to come.

The other two seemed to consider the suggestion for a moment, then
nodded their heads in agreement.  "We must find him" LaCroix said
quietly, "he is a danger to himself".

"And to anyone who tries to stop him from getting another drink"
Shelley muttered under her breath, recalling the incident she
had with him earlier.  As she walked back to the elevator, she
called out over her shoulder "I'll go get the keys and meet you
by the van".


*********************

CERK's parking lot was well lit as Shelley made her way to the
van, parked nice and close thanks to her handicapped licence plates.
Arletta was standing there waiting for her, looking up with an
odd expression on her face.

"What's wrong?  Where's LaCroix?" Shelley asked.

"He said he would search on his own, he doesn't like cars, flying
is better or something" Arletta said distractedly, still with that
odd look on her face.

"Are you okay?" Shelley asked, concerned.

"Yes, it's just that he took off so fast...I mean, the last time
he did that, I was with him, I...." she shrugged, at a loss for
words.  Finally, she seemed to put her thoughts together and said
"I closed my eyes...I had no idea we were going that *fast*"
she shivered slightly at the thought.

"Well, you can take a nice, slow train home" Shelley said, grinning
and secretly glad she had never had the experience of flying with a
vampire.  "If we ever get this time rift thing fixed, that is" she
amended with a more serious look.

The two got into the van and started off on the search for one very
drunk vampire.  Neither one of them looked happy about it.