-- This story has never appeared online until now. It was written specifically for a charity zine entitled "A Taste of Forever" which is now out of print. This story takes place late second season, after "The Fix" and "Be My Valentine" but before "A More Permanent Hell" and deals specifically with the aftermath of "Be My Valentine."

Trust

She heard Nick slip quietly into the room, intent, she supposed, on sneaking up on her. The thought brought a bright flash of irritation, which she indulged by saying, "Hi Nick! What brings you to my door?" without turning around to face him.

"How do you do that?" he asked, and she could hear the disappointment in his voice. Why he loved to sneak up and startle her so was beyond her. It must be a male vampire thing, she thought with a scowl. But she was in no mood to indulge him today.

"Do what?" she asked, hitting the enter key on her computer to save her report more sharply than necessary.

"Know when I'm going to sneak up on you?"

"Ah, that," she said, spinning her chair around so she could face him, a small smile on her lips. "I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you." That didn't elicit the grin she expected. "Lets just say you should admit defeat."

"Oh yeah," he replied, his eyes narrowing, but a slow smile crept across his face. "Maybe I'll just have to work harder at it."

"Suit yourself," Natalie replied, spinning her chair around again and facing her computer terminal.

She heard him walk over and casually sit on the corner of her desk leaned down to look over her shoulder at the report she was filling out. "Is that, by any chance, for me?"

"Yep. The wrap-up on the Weston case. Forensics finally managed to finish with the evidence. It's all yours as soon as I print it out and sign it. In triplicate." She tapped the enter key again, sending three copies to the printer with a sigh of relief. "And good riddance," she added wryly under her breath.

Nick glanced sharply up at her, then narrowed his eyes as he looked carefully at her. "You OK?" he asked, his expression and voice softening. Glancing up into his concerned blue eyes, she nodded. Lately, when he looked at her like that . . . Natalie couldn't put her finger on it. She felt . . . something, something warm and happy, something elusive. Try as she might to hold onto it, it always slipped away from her. She allowed herself the luxury of trying to capture it once more, staring up into his eyes as if she might find the answer in their depths.

Until Nick's concerned expression turned to a frown. "Nat . . .?" he asked hesitantly, reaching out to touch her arm.

But before he could make contact with her sleeve she blinked and cleared her throat, dropping her gaze. Nick's hand stopped in mid-air and he self-consciously reached down to toy with her nameplate.

"I'm fine," she said. "This one was ugly, that's all." She rose, report in hand, and walked over to the filing cabinet, trying to regain her composure. This sort of thing was happening more and more often, and it was beginning to concern her a bit.

"Yeah, I know," Nick said grimly. She heard him stand and walk over to her and tried not to tense when he put his hand lightly on her shoulder. She mostly succeeded, she thought proudly, covering her slight start by closing the drawer to the filing cabinet and turning to face him.

"What's wrong?" she asked. He was looking at her like that again, a mixture of concern and sorrow, and she resisted the urge to grab onto that feeling that was evading her every time he did it.

"What?" he asked.

She reached up and took his hand, squeezing it lightly. "I said 'What's wrong?' I know you well enough, Nick, to know when something's bothering you." She tugged on his hand until he moved with her over to her desk, then pointed to a nearby chair. "Now why don't you have a seat and tell Dr. Natalie all about it," she said teasingly.

That earned her a quick smile as he ducked his head. When he raised it again, only the barest amount of sorrow remained among the amusement. "This one's ugly," he said simply, shrugging. Natalie knew that wasn't the answer, and looked at him questioningly, letting him know that she knew he wasn't telling all. Nick shrugged again, then ran a hand through his hair. "And . . . I guess I'm just a little worried about you. You've seemed a little . . . pre-occupied lately. Even Schanke noticed." Then he stopped and looked away, his expression doubtful.

"What?" she prompted.

When he looked back at her, his expression was totally serious.. "I . . . uh . . . listen, Nat, if you're still embarrassed about what happened that night we went to dinner . . ."

Now it was her turn to look away as his voice trailed off. That sick feeling in the pit of her stomach returned once again, as it did every time she thought about that night. Or tried to think about that night, she reminded herself bitterly. There wasn't much there that she could think about, just a big, black gap following a particularly fuzzy day. Natalie hated it, the loss of information, the loss of control, the feeling that she might have said or done something to embarrass herself--which was a distinct possibility given the way Nick had been treating her ever since.

She took a deep breath and looked back up at him. "Did I . . . Did I do or say anything . . ." she asked him once again.

Nick quickly shook his head. "I told you, Nat. We had a good time."

But the sigh of relief that he seemed to be expecting never made it to her lips. "Because you'd tell me, wouldn't you?" she continued, hating herself for being so desperate and manipulative all of a sudden, but she *had* to know. "You'd tell me the truth."

And then she knew, by the stricken look on his face that something *had* happened that night. For one brief second he couldn't hide it from her, and it was all the time she needed. Stunned, she slowly leaned back in her chair and watched him as he emphatically shook his head, a big smile falling into place on his face.

"We had a great time," he said again, his voice cheerful. "In fact," he continued, "I thought we could try it again. Like maybe tomorrow night?"

Natalie reminded herself to breathe as Nick looked at her expectantly. "Tomorrow night?" she asked.

"Yeah," he said with another shrug. "We *did* have a good time, Nat. I really want to do it again. It was a lot of fun."

He was plowing ahead now, she realized, trying to cover his brief slip. What did she do? What did she say? She struggled to regain something, *anything* from that night.

"I . . . uh . . . I can't," she said, shuffling through some papers on her desk. "I promised Sarah I'd go over to the house and have dinner with her and Amy."

Nick looked away. They never talked about Richard, although Natalie had been thinking about him and Sarah a lot over the last few days. That's why she'd called her sister-in-law to find out how she was doing. They *needed* to talk about Richard, but Natalie honestly didn't know how to broach the subject and she new that Nick never would. For now it remained between them, an unseen but palpable spectre that colored their whole relationship.

"How are Sarah and Amy?"

Nat shrugged, "I don't see them as often as I should. That's going to change," she said resolutely. "I don't think either of them are doing that well," she added quietly.

They were silent for a moment, not looking at one another, trying not to think about Richard, trying not to broach the subject. After several long minutes, Nick reached forward and gently took her hand. "I'll take a rain check on dinner, then" he said, squeezing her fingers as he rose. He held onto her hand for a few seconds longer than he should, looking down at her.

Then, with a quick smile, he was gone. And Natalie realized with a sudden pang that she was actually glad to see him go.

"Would you like a drink, Natalie?" Sarah asked, as she took Natalie's coat. "Scotch, a glass of wine?"

"Coffee, thanks. I'm on call," she explained.

Sarah frowned. "Weren't you on call last night, too?" she said as she hung Natalie's coat in the hall closet and walked toward the kitchen. "I'm making a roast for dinner."

"It smells wonderful," Natalie said appreciatively. She had a sudden, clear vision of Richard, standing right where Sarah was now one Christmas morning sneaking samples of the turkey. When Sarah had caught him red-handed and they'd nearly had a fight, he'd disappeared for half an hour into his study, only to emerge with a neatly typed legal brief arguing that his wife was the best cook in all of North America. Almost unwillingly, Natalie's eyes slid to the wall near the refrigerator, and noted that Sarah still had the framed legal brief hanging there on the wall. When he'd thought to take a break from work, Richard had been so loving, so charming. The bright colors of Sarah's kitchen blurred together abruptly, and her throat constricted.

Sarah cleared her throat. "Why don't you go sit down in the living room, and I'll bring your coffee out to you, " she said softly. Natalie noted that Sarah's eyes had followed hers to the frame on the wall. "Amy should be back from Girl Guides any minute now, and I know she's looking forward to seeing you. You two should spend some time together."

Sarah hadn't meant it with any malice, but Natalie felt the sting of her words anyway. She should be spending more time with Amy. And Sarah. They were the only family Natalie had left, and her only true connection to Richard. With him gone, the occasional visit on holidays wasn't enough anymore. And, to be truthful, it hadn't really been enough when Richard was alive, either, Natalie thought bitterly.

Instead of sitting down right away, Natalie ducked into the little bathroom on the first floor of the house and quickly splashed some cold water on her face. Then she stood for a moment, just gazing into the mirror at herself. She and Richard looked nothing alike, and people were always shocked to discover that they were, in fact, brother and sister rather than husband and wife when they'd gone to official functions together before Richard had gotten married. Now Natalie felt old as she examined herself. There were bags under her eyes, and worry lines around her mouth. She hadn't been sleeping very well lately, and she was working too much.

There was a flurry of activity out in the hallway, and Natalie heard a voice yelling "Aunt Nat! Aunt Nat!" Quickly, she slipped out of the bathroom in time to see her niece running toward her dropping her bag, her books and shedding her coat on the way. Before Natalie could react the young girl had flung herself into Natalie's arms with such force that they were propelled back into the washroom.

"Amy!" Sarah scolded sharply.

But Natalie just laughed and hugged Amy tightly. "It's so good to see you!"

"Now, you know better than to come charging in here like a bull in a china shop!" Sarah continued. "Amy, I want you to pick all this stuff up and take it to your room. And I want you to wash up. Dinner will be ready soon."

"OK, Mom!" Amy disengaged herself from Natalie's arms and grabbed her hand, tugging at it. "Would you help me carry my stuff upstairs, Aunt Nat? I gotta talk to you. It's really important!"

Natalie nodded quickly to Sarah with a grin, then bent down and picked up Amy's coat. Sarah took it from her. "Go on up, I'll take care of this," she said.

Amy chattered away as the two made their way up the steps and into a beautiful little room that obviously belonged to a little girl, though Natalie was actually grateful to note there was no pink anywhere in the room other than a few stuffed animals piled on the bed.

"Look what Mom got me," Amy said, dumping her bag onto the floor again and plopping face down into a blue beanbag chair near the bed. "You can sit in it!" Amy said, scrambling up and making way for Natalie.

Gingerly, Natalie lowered herself into the chair, and was relieved to discover it was actually quite comfortable, though a bit too low to the ground for her tastes.

"So, how's school going?" she asked, as Amy picked up her bag, hopped onto the bed, and began pulling her school things out of it.

"Good," Amy said with a shrug. "Look what Angela wrote on my math book." She held the brown-paper covered book covered with scribbles and doodles up for Natalie's inspection.

"Uh..." Natalie said, trying to find something legible, but Amy pulled it away from her and tossed it onto the bed. Then she reached across and picked up another book.

"Have you ever read this book?" Amy handed her a dog-eared paperback book.

"Real Ghost Stories?" Natalie asked. "Your mom is letting you read this?"

"No," Amy admitted, quickly taking the book back from Natalie. "She'd freak if she knew I had it. Promise you won't tell? It's research. That's why I wanted to know if you'd read it."

"Research for school?" Natalie asked with a frown. She didn't think she was that out of touch with what they taught kids in school these days.

"Aunt Nat, can I ask you a question?"

Natalie was a bit disturbed by the abrupt change of subject, but she hid it from Amy. Something was clearly bothering the young girl and Natalie sensed she wanted someone to talk it over with. "You can ask me anything, honey."

Amy wouldn't look at her, but stared fixedly at the cover of the ghost story book still clutched loosely in her hands. "Do you believe in ghosts?" she asked tentatively.

Natalie hesitated. Before she'd met Nick this would have been an easy question to answer, so sure was she of the fact that ghosts did not exist. But now, knowing that vampires existed had broadened her horizons. Natalie had realized shortly after meeting Nick and learning what he was that if she had to accept the fact that vampires existed, then by extension she had to be at least open to the idea that other supernatural phenomena existed too.

"Well," Natalie began, her voice slow and measured as she chose her words carefully. "I believe there are things out there that are part of the natural world that we don't have the technology to understand yet." She glanced up at her niece to gauge her reaction.

Amy was staring thoughtfully into space. "So you do believe in ghosts." Before Natalie could protest, Amy continued. "What about vampires?"

That nearly threw her. "I didn't say I believe in ghosts," Natalie said quickly, hoping to distract Amy. "What I meant by what I said is that we should be open to new ideas, when enough evidence presents itself in a form that we can understand. Just because I say that we don't understand everything that's out there in the world doesn't automatically translate into me believing in ghosts." Or vampires, Natalie thought to herself, though to tell Amy that would be a lie. When Amy was silent for a few moments, Natalie reached out and pulled the girl over to her, settling her onto her lap and wrapping her arms around her. "Amy, what's this all about? Do you think you saw a ghost?"

Amy shook her head. "No, but I think Mommy did."

Natalie pulled Amy closer and brushed a hand through her hair. "Why do you say that?" Amy was clearly reluctant to talk. "You can tell me," Natalie prompted softly after a few moments of silence.

"You won't tell?"

"I won't tell," Natalie promised. She knew Amy wasn't going to reveal anything to her without it, and this was too important to let go unresolved.

"When I was home sick from school I heard Mommy and Aunt Jenny talking about Daddy." Natalie remained silent, waiting for Amy to continue. "Mommy said she'd had a dream about Daddy, where he came back after he died, and then turned into a monster."

"What kind of monster?" Natalie asked, her heart growing cold.

Amy looked solemnly at her. "A vampire. Mommy said he had yellow eyes and fangs, and that he wanted to drink her blood."

"Well, Amy," Natalie began. "That just sounds like a very scary dream. Your mom misses your daddy very much."

"Mommy also said that sometimes she can hear his voice. He tells her he's alive, and that he loves her, and that they'll always be together. I thought...maybe Daddy's spirit was still here with us, and that's why she could hear him, and see him at night when she's asleep." Amy frowned. "But that doesn't explain the monster part very well. I know Daddy's with God, but maybe he misses us so much that he comes around sometimes."

Natalie didn't know what to do, or say. There was such a hopeful note in Amy's voice that it nearly broke her heart. "I'm sure your daddy is watching over you and your mother," Natalie said at last. "But I think your mother just had a bad dream, that's all. You know what else I think?"

"What?"

"I think you and your mom should talk about this," Natalie said. And then she tilted her head, indicating the paperback book lying on the bed. "And that, too. If you keep reading that stuff, before you know it, you'll be having scary dreams, too."

"Do you ever have scary dreams, Aunt Nat?"

Natalie nodded. "Sometimes. Everybody does."

"Do you ever dream about Daddy?"

"I do," Natalie answered. "Not scary dreams, though. I dream about when your daddy and I were little."

"What was Daddy like when he was my age?"

"Well, he looked just like you do now, but his hair was really short," she said tousling Amy's long blond hair. "In fact, he was nearly bald." Natalie smiled at the image, seeing Ritchie as a boy of about ten, in jeans and that ridiculous Superman tshirt he wore every day he could get away with it. Despite the fact that those hadn't been happy times for her, Natalie always remembered Ritchie as a little boy standing in the sunshine grinning at her.

The memory made her heart ache again, and she was grateful when she heard Sarah call from downstairs that dinner was ready. "Help an old lady out of this chair," Natalie said, poking Amy in the ribs. Amy jumped up and grabbed her hand, making a big show of hauling Natalie out of the beanbag chair.

"Go wash up," Natalie said, shooing Amy into the bathroom and heading for the stairs.

"So, did you two have a nice chat?" Sarah asked with a smile as Natalie came down the stairs.

"Yes, we did," Natalie replied, debating with herself over whether or not she should reveal to Sarah what the conversation was about.

"Did she talk to you about the ghost book?" Natalie stared at Sarah in shock. "Good," Sarah said. "I was hoping she would. I found it in her closet the other day while I was putting her clothes away."

"I think I convinced her to talk to you about it," Natalie said, taking the small stack of dishes from Sarah's hands.

"Did she tell you that I think I saw Richard's ghost?" Sarah asked. The words were spoken matter-of-factly, but they nearly made Natalie drop the plates she held in her hands. When she glanced over at her sister-in-law she saw that Sarah was looking at her carefully and that she was not joking about what she had just said. The spell was broken when they heard Amy start down the steps. "We'll talk later," Sarah said. "I'll bring the rest of the food in."

The table was hastily set, and the three of them sat down do the nicest dinner Natalie had eaten for as long as she could remember--since before Richard had died, she was certain. Though she was disturbed by the talk she'd just had with her niece and then Sarah's subsequent comments on the matter, she was able to put them out of her mind and chatter about small things while eating Sarah's excellent meal. Amy was doing well in school, and announced that she wanted to be a doctor when she grew up.

Afterwards, the three cleared the table and did the dishes. "Homework time," Sarah announced as Natalie dried the last dish and handed it to Amy to put away.

"But Aunt Nat's here, and I hardly ever get to see her!" Amy protested.

"How about this," Natalie said quickly. "You go up and do your homework. I won't leave until you're done, unless I get called into work." When it looked like Amy was still going to protest, Natalie continued. "And this Friday, if it's OK with your mom, you and I will go out to dinner and a movie. Just the two of us. How's that sound?"

That worked, and Amy dutifully went upstairs to her room, leaving Natalie and Sarah to coffee and dessert in the kitchen. Natalie was determined to broach the subject of Richard with Sarah.

"Did you see Richard's ghost?" Natalie began, bluntly. It was a terrible way to open up a conversation, but it was too late to back out now. And in a way, Sarah seemed relieved to talk about it to someone.

"I know, being a scientist and all, that you probably don't believe in ghosts, but Natalie, I swear, there are times when I can hear him talking to me. That he's trying to tell me something that I've forgotten, something important."

Natalie bit her lip. "Amy mentioned that you'd had a dream?"

Sarah nodded. "When I found the book I suspected she might have heard me talking to Jenny about it. I'm not sure why I didn't just come right out and ask her about it when I found it." Sarah shook her head slowly. "Maybe I was afraid. She's too young to be reading those sorts of things, but what if they're not just stories? What if people can come back from the grave? And sometimes I have an even crazier thought. What if he's not really dead? What if he's out there somewhere trying to contact me? Natalie, I tell you, if it wasn't for the fact that everyone, including you, would think I was insane, I'd have his body exhumed because sometimes I feel so strongly that he's not dead that I want to prove it to the whole world."

Sarah's words made Natalie's blood run cold. "Sarah," she said softly, trying to soothe the distraught woman.

Sarah sat back in her chair, and pressed her hand over her eyes. "I'm sorry. It must be hard for you to hear these things. I know you miss him too."

"I do. And so do you and Amy," Natalie said, placing her hand on Sarah's arm. "After my father died, I used to swear I saw him walking down the sidewalk toward me. I used to see him everywhere."

"But for months?" Sarah asked. "It's been over a year, and it's getting worse and worse. And the dreams..." Sarah's voice trailed off.

"What about the dreams, Sarah?" Natalie asked.

"I'm in Nick's loft," Sarah began, after taking a deep breath. "You and Nick are there, and so's Richard. And I'm just so happy to see him, because in the dream he's supposed to be dead, and here he is, and he's alive, and he's so happy to see me. But then he turns into a horrible monster with...fangs. It usually ends there, or gets really mixed up after that with Nick and Richard fighting."

Natalie frowned with concern. "Do you have this dream every night?"

"No," Sarah said, taking a sip of her coffee. "A couple times a month, but that's enough. I'm on the verge of going to see a therapist about it. And I'm beginning to think maybe I should take Amy too. A little family counseling might be good for us."

Natalie, in good conscience, could not tell Sarah that going into counseling over this was a bad idea. Clearly, the dreams were disturbing her sister-in-law to the point of hysteria. And, Natalie reasoned, a therapist wouldn't believe that the dream or Sarah's sense that Richard was still alive were real, but merely manifestations of the grieving process.

But there was one thing Natalie could do. She didn't like having to lie, but she saw no way around it-she and Nick had perpetrated the ruse, and when they took away Sarah's memories, they were obligated to maintain it on their own.

"It might not be a bad idea," Natalie said. "But one thing I can tell you, as much as I wish it wasn't true, is that Richard is dead. I took care of the body myself." It wasn't entirely a lie; Richard was dead, and Natalie had personally seen to the burial of a homeless man in her brother's place. And she had taken charge of Ritchie's body after he supposedly died in the hospital.

"Oh, I know, Natalie," Sarah said, grasping her hand and squeezing it. "I must sound crazy to you."

"Not at all," Natalie said. Far less crazy than you think, she thought, wishing that she could just unburden herself and tell Sarah the whole, horrible story. But that was a decision that she and Nick would have to make together; it wasn't something she could just do on her own, for all their safety.

Just then Natalie felt her beeper go off, and reached down quickly to her waist. "Damn!" she said. "Another quiet evening ruined."

Sarah smiled. "Amy will be disappointed, but she'll get over it. And thank you for offering to take her out on Friday."

"It's my pleasure." She looked at Sarah solemnly for a moment. "I don't spend as much time with you as I should, and I'd like to change that."

"We'd both like that," Sarah said. "You and Ritchie must have a workaholic gene in there somewhere. But you should feel free to come over whenever you want to. You're always welcome here."

"Thanks," Natalie said, rising. "Let me just make a quick call, then I'll go upstairs and say good-bye to Amy."

It sounded like natural causes, but Natalie dutifully left Sarah and Amy's house, and drove quickly over to the scene. The ME on duty had been called away to deal with a prisoner who'd gotten killed in a knife fight, and was expected to be out of the office most of the night. The scene she was heading to was in a restaurant, so it had to be dealt with quickly. As it was, the place would probably be closed for a few days.

Bits and pieces of her conversations that evening haunted Natalie as she drove through the late evening traffic. She had never thought about it before, but it was obvious to her that the effects of Nick's hypnosis of Sarah were wearing off. The dreams, the sense that Richard wasn't dead--they had to be her subconscious telling her in a not-so-subtle way that someone had forced her to forget something important.

She chided herself. In all her tests on Nick's physiology, she'd never once thought to examine his abilities in detail. In a way, given her background, it was an obvious thing to overlook. His ability to hypnotize someone was a product of his physical condition, not something that had any bearing or impact on his vampirism. It was like his ability to fly.

But now she wished she knew more about it, and wondered how much Nick knew. Probably about as much as I do, she realized. For one thing, she doubted he stayed in one place long enough to see what the long-term effects of hypnotism were. And given what it was probably used for most of the time, there were few survivors to be concerned over long-term affects. That thought chilled her to the bone.

Natalie supposed the wisest thing to do would be to tell Nick about it, and then the two of them would pay another visit to Sarah, and maybe even Amy. Maybe that would take care of the problem.

At the time, taking away Sarah's memories had seemed like the only practical solution, and there was no reason to believe that that had changed. The last thing she wanted was for Sarah to suffer over the decision she'd made for Richard, the choice that had gone so horribly wrong. That she was beginning to suffer distressed Natalie greatly.

But taking Sarah's memories away again didn't feel right. Not any more. Natalie wasn't quite sure why. And she had no idea what she was going to do.

Natalie stood outside the restaurant frowning up at the sign. "Azure," she said to herself, feeling very uneasy. This was the restaurant Nick had taken her to. Funny, but she hadn't really remembered the name until this second. "Oh god," she said aloud again, "what if someone remembers me from that night?" The thought horrified her to the point where she almost got back into her car and drove away. As much as she would have liked to know what had happened here, she didn't want to find out from complete strangers who now had to see her in a professional capacity.

But an uniformed officer was standing there, holding the door open for her, and she had no choice but to go in. "Concentrate," she muttered to herself and tried not to look at the maitre'd who stood nervously to one side.

"He's in the back," the officer said. "In the courtyard." As Natalie made her way toward the archway in the back she had the strangest feeling there was someone there waiting for her, someone she should be afraid of.

But when she stepped into the courtyard all she saw was the usual crime scene activity. The gentleman who was responsible for her presence here was still face down in his escargot, and the photographer was just finishing with the photographs of the scene. Natalie leaned over to get a look at the initial positioning of his body.

"Poor bastard just keeled over, right in the middle of the appetizer." Phil Bronson, the detective who'd been called out, approached her.

"Did anyone else have the escargot tonight?" Natalie asked.

"About half a dozen people," Phil said, checking his notes. "They all walked out of here under their own steam. Forensics will take the plate in to make sure. And the city's gonna close the place down for a few days, until we know what killed the guy."

Natalie quickly went to work on her preliminary exam, then motioned for two technicians to help her move the body. There was nothing noteworthy, or suspicious, and Natalie was fairly certain he'd simply suffered a massive coronary or some kind of aneurysm. The autopsy would show that without a doubt.

While the body was being bagged, then wheeled out, Natalie took a moment to look around. Now that she was here she knew this was definitely the place she and Nick had been to that night. In fact, she was fairly certain they'd eaten out here in the courtyard. Not at the table where her latest customer had been, but another one nearby, closer to the wall.

And the restaurant had been empty, too. She suddenly remembered that as well. But the memory made her frown. Nick didn't normally lavish her with extravagant gifts. Or gifts of any sort, for that matter. Why on earth would he have bought out the entire restaurant just so the two of them could have dinner? It didn't make any sense.

On an impulse, Natalie walked over to the table she thought they'd sat at, and placed her hand on the back of the chair, then sat down. Maybe looking at the room from the same vantage point would jog her memory even more.

But there was nothing. Natalie glanced up, and saw the moon shining through a skylight set into the high ceiling. This is a really romantic place, she thought to herself, looking once again at the privacy of the room, and the dÈcor.

But she felt uneasy here. She supposed it had to do with the fact that she'd gotten so drunk she didn't remember anything from that night. How she could have been stupid enough to drink so much that she'd blacked out, especially when Nick had brought her to a place like this, was beyond her. Natalie shook her head, then rose to her feet. She had work to do, and she wouldn't get it done sitting around here all night. It was time to put that embarrassing incident behind her once and for all.

"Mr. Green, in the courtyard, with the escargot," Natalie said, handing Bronson her report.

"Really?" Bronson asked. "The food killed him?"

"No," Natalie assured him with a smirk. "But 'massive cerebral hemorrhage' didn't work with the line as well. This one's open and shut. Natural causes. You get to go home early."

"Must be my lucky night," Bronson chuckled. "Hey, you want to go out for a cup of coffee, or something?"

Natalie glanced up at Bronson, startled. He grinned broadly at her, making his intent perfectly clear. For a moment she considered taking him up on his offer. But Nick was waiting. "Thanks, but I can't. I'll take a rain check though."

"Will do," Bronson said, his grin slipping slightly. "Be seeing you," he added, giving her a quick salute before disappearing out the door. She hoped he would ask her out again, and that she hadn't scared him off this time.

Natalie took a moment to stop off in Captain Williamson's office to discuss another pending case, then got into her car and headed for Nick's loft. Glancing at her watch she saw that it was nearly dawn. He'd be home by now, since his shift ended nearly an hour ago. She'd left a message earlier that she'd drop by after finishing up with this case. The streets were just starting to become active with pre-dawn traffic as people made their way to work.

Natalie glanced at her watch and frowned again. Six hours of sleep in the last thirty-six. That was pushing it, even for her. But she didn't feel tired. She rarely ever did, and even in medical school the long hours had taken far less of a toll on her than they had on her fellow students. Sometimes she felt like she thrived on getting no sleep, that it sharpened her cognitive capacities.

She'd slept a lot the few days after that night out with Nick. The memory brought a frown as she thought again of those fuzzy days. She'd slept nearly ten hours every night that week, and had even called in sick one day, something she rarely ever did. But she'd find herself nodding off in the middle of paperwork, or during staff meetings. Just when she'd been on the verge of going to see her doctor, the fuzziness seemed to pass and her body felt normal, like it belonged to her again. She'd chalked it up to a low-grade viral infection that she'd helped along by drinking too much that night.

Natalie couldn't stop thinking about that night, at least not without a concerted effort. Aside from her own embarrassment over what she probably said and did, she was very concerned about the blackout. That was not a good sign, and it was something that had never happened to her before. Nick's problem had aspects of alcoholism, though that was a simplistic way of looking at it, and she'd done some research on it shortly after she'd met him. Alcohol-related blackouts were definitely signs of a predisposition toward alcoholism.

Neither she nor Richard were big drinkers, though Natalie sometimes unwound after a long shift with a scotch and soda. She knew Richard had, too, since occasionally she'd meet him for an early evening drink at a bar near the coroner's office when their schedules permitted. Natalie had no clear memories of either of her parents drinking, but one or both of them might have had a drinking problem. There was, of course, no way to find out now. And while she never saw Nana take a drink, Natalie did remember smelling it on her breath on more than one occasion.

Don't get worked up over nothing, she cautioned herself. The best thing she could do would be to take this as a warning sign to always be extremely careful in the future. Just for good measure, she'd monitor her alcohol consumption for the next month or so, then maybe talk to her doctor about whether or not it was something that either was, or could be a problem.

Natalie turned her mind to her other major problem, that being Sarah and Amy, and tried to think of how she was going to broach the subject with Nick. Richard was a painful memory, a horrible tragedy binding them together, yet keeping them apart. A few months after it had happened, Natalie had tried to talk to Nick about it, about her own feelings over what had happened, only to have Nick abruptly shut her out. Nick was the only person she could talk to about what had happened to Richard, and he steadfastly refused to do so.

She supposed she could simply force the issue--use Amy and Sarah to get her foot in the door, so to speak. But this was too personal, she decided. If she broached the subject at all, Nick would undoubtedly clam up on her, like he had before.

No, Natalie thought, there was a better, more circumspect way. As hard as it was to get him to talk about vampirism, Natalie suspected that would be an easier discussion than trying to talk to him about Sarah. At least Natalie thought it was a better way to begin--find out from him what he knew about vampire hypnotism, and whether or not it eventually wore off. Plus, she wasn't quite sure what needed to be done about Sarah, and didn't want him rushing off to take matters into his own hands. If something had to be done, Natalie felt strongly that they should make the decision together.

She turned the corner and pulled into her usual parking space in front of Nick's loft. The Caddy was nowhere in sight, but Natalie glanced up just in time to see the shutters on the windows close. In a way she felt bad. Now that it was morning there was no escape for Nick if he didn't want to have the conversation she was about to start with him. If she got mad enough, she could just leave, but Nick was trapped there for the day. Maybe it would be fairer to wait until evening.

Firmly shaking the thought off, Natalie got out and went to the door, then typed in the access code. Now was as good a time as any. While she didn't think Sarah was in any danger of a breakdown, or from the community, the sooner she found some answers, the sooner this situation could be resolved one way or the other.

He was sitting on the couch when she pushed the lift door aside, but he rose immediately and greeted her with a smile. "Got your message," he said as she shrugged out of her coat. "I made coffee."

While Natalie stared at him, dumbstruck, he walked into the kitchen and poured her a cup. "Half a spoon of sugar, right?" he asked over his shoulder. Natalie nodded, then took the warm mug from his hands. He waited expectantly, so she took a sip.

"This is good!" she said, disbelievingly.

"Croissant?" he asked, grasping her arm and steering her over to the kitchen table.

This was too much for Natalie. "Okay," she said. "Who are you, and what have you done with Nick?"

He chuckled. "Surely I'm not that bad a host?" When Natalie gave him a meaningful look he held up his hands in mock surrender, "Okay, okay. Guilty as charged. Now drink your coffee before it gets cold."

Natalie took another sip and smiled appreciatively. "Well, this more than makes up for the breakfast date I turned down this morning," she said lightly. Had she imagined it, or did she see a shadow briefly darken Nick's face.

"Breakfast date?" he asked, with obviously feigned casualness.

"Yeah," Natalie said, taking her coffee into the living room and dropping down onto the couch. "Bronson over at the 56th. It was oh, so romantic," she added, rolling her eyes dramatically. "He asked me out over an autopsy report on a guy who took a header into his escargot."

"I see," Nick said, talking the armchair. "But you turned him down."

Natalie regarded him for a moment. "Well, actually, I took a rain check," she said, watching him carefully.

"Oh," Nick said, nodding his head. Something about the tone of his shoe seemed suddenly fascinating to him. He nodded his head, then looked back up at her suddenly. "That's good. You should get out more. You work too hard."

Is he jealous? Her heart skipped a beat at the thought. It was such a horrible clichÈ, but she had actually felt it flutter in her chest when she'd looked up at him. I'm probably just imaging things, she told herself.

"Maybe you're right," she said, taking another sip of her coffee as an excuse to duck her head. "But speaking of work..."

"Work?" he asked meaningfully, "Or work work?"

"Our work," she answered. "I have something important I need to discuss with you." It's now or never, she thought to herself. At his quizzical look, she opened her mouth, ready to pour out the whole of Sarah and Amy's situation. Instead, she took a deep breath and asked "What can you tell me about vampire hypnotism?"

The words coming out of her mouth surprised her, but she was even more amazed at the dramatic effect they had on Nick. He sprang out of his chair and stalked to the kitchen where he began pacing nervously.

"It's a simple question, Nick," Natalie said defensively, her eyes tracking him as he moved back and forth.

He stopped suddenly, and stared at her, his eyes narrowing. "Why do you suddenly want to know about that?" he asked. "You never asked about it before."

Natalie shrugged. "So I'm asking now."

He didn't answer but resumed his pacing. "Nick?" Natalie asked again, then turned around and placed her half finish cup of coffee on the coffee table. Rising she walked into the kitchen and placed herself between Nick and the refrigerator. He collided with her, then stepped back abruptly.

"Nat!"

"You know, I've taken tissue samples, blood samples, measured blood consumption, listened to your version of 'My Life as a Vampire,' at least the bits you're willing to tell me, and you suddenly balk at talking about hypnotism?" Natalie asked incredulously.

Nick sighed deeply. "What do you want to know?" he asked, and Natalie could hear the reluctance in his voice. Maybe this wasn't the best way to go, she thought. Maybe it would be better to just tell him about Sarah.

"How long does it last?" she asked.

Nick shrugged. "Forever?"

Natalie frowned and walked back into the living room. "It never wears off?"

"No," Nick said firmly behind her. "Never."

"You're sure about that? I mean, is the memory erased completely, or is it just hidden? And if it's just hidden, couldn't it become accessible again sometime in the future?" These were actually all interesting questions, separate and apart from the current situation.

Nick quickly sat down beside her, staring questioningly into her face. "If I tell someone to forget something, they forget it," he said, but Natalie wasn't certain if he was trying to convince her, or himself.

"You've never been around someone you've hypnotized for an extended period of time, have you?" Then she turned away and blinked rapidly. "No, I guess you probably haven't. You don't have to be a genius to figure out what its main purpose is."

Nick gently grasped her chin. "As far as I'm concerned, its main purpose is to protect people," he informed her gently.

"Well I'm sure it's handy for that," she said. "But I think it's a pretty safe bet that its main function is to make prey easier to catch, isn't it?"

Nick turned away from her. This isn't going well, Natalie thought. They were heading into a realm that was dangerous.

"Which means," she continued, "its long-term effects are probably questionable. So someone could start to remember things he or she's been told to forget." A thought suddenly occurred to her. "Especially," she said excitedly, "if you're surrounded by little reminders of what you're supposed to forget. They probably act as triggers."

Nick jumped up again and walked to the window, and punched the metal shutter so hard he left a dent. Whirling to face her he said "You've remembered, haven't you?"

At first, Natalie didn't quite understand what he was talking about. She was thinking that he was going to have a hard time raising that shutter this evening with that big dent in it--and wondering why this particular line of questioning had upset him so.

But then his words sank in. You've remembered, haven't you? She stared up at him in shock, unable to speak. But it didn't matter, because Nick was on a rant.

"Nice touch, that comment about a breakfast date," he said. "Trying to make me jealous! Well, it worked!" Before Natalie had time to process that, he continued. "It's not like I wanted to. I had to, Nat! For your own protection! Surely you can see that, can't you? I didn't think you'd remember it, ever. Schanke never does, so I thought we were safe. I thought I was being careful not to do anything that might make you remember."

Natalie was still dumbstruck, silent. It took her several seconds to become aware that Nick had stopped talking and was staring at her, his eyes filled with such pain and longing and sorrow. She blinked, then stood up, and went to the kitchen to pour herself another cup of coffee. It was the only thing she could think of at the moment to do.

"Nat?" she heard him call after her, softly, his voice breaking slightly.

"You took away my memories?" she asked, surprised at how calm and steady her voice sounded. It didn't match the whirlwind of emotions that had suddenly sprung up inside her at all. "You aren't supposed to be able to do that," she concluded lamely, and took a sip of her coffee.

Nick just stared at her from across the room, his face betraying the near panic he was obviously in. Natalie sat down at the kitchen table, hands wrapped around the hot mug as if it were a lifeline and reminded herself to breathe. They remained like that, in complete silence for what felt like hours as Natalie tried to sort out the thoughts whirling in her head at this new revelation.

"That night at Azure," she said finally, quietly. "I didn't drink too much, did I? That's the night you took away my memory." It suddenly all made sense, and Natalie mentally kicked herself for being so blind. The evidence was there all along; she'd seen it immediately with Sarah, but had missed it completely in her own case. "Some trained observer you are," she muttered to herself, then dropped her head into her hands. Her palms were hot from the mug, and they felt soothing as she pressed them tightly against her eyes. God, I am so tired, she thought.

She heard Nick walk slowly toward her, then heard the scrape of a chair as he sat down next to her. A cool hand reached out and grasped one of hers, drawing it away from her face. She raised her head, and Nick cradled her hand in his for a moment, then raised it to his face and placed a gentle kiss on the inside of her wrist. "I'm so sorry," he whispered, pressing her palm to his cheek.

"Sorry for what?" Natalie asked, pulling her hand away. "Sorry for doing it, or sorry that I found out?"

Nick just sighed. It occurred to Natalie that they'd sat at this table before, in exactly the same places, she looking at him trying to avoid her gaze. It was the day they'd taken Sarah's memories about Richard away from her. At least they thought they'd taken them away.

"When did you start to remember?" Nick asked quietly.

Natalie gave him a small, ironic laugh. "I didn't," she said. "I didn't know anything about it until you said it."

"What?" Nick asked, his expression incredulous. "But what were all the questions? I thought..."

Natalie shook her head. "I wanted to know because Sarah is starting to remember. I found out at dinner last night."

"Why didn't you just say so?" he asked, and she could hear the accusation in his voice. Now that he'd accidentally spilled the beans about her own situation, he needed someone to blame and she was as good a scapegoat as any.

"Because you shut me out every time I bring Richard up, that's why!" She was practically shouting. Drawing a deep, calming breath, she clenched her fist and continued in a quieter tone. "I knew you'd clam up the minute I said his name." At Nick's look she continued quickly. "Because it's what you always do. And I didn't want you just taking matters into your own hands."

"I'll take care of it," he said quickly.

"No, you won't!" Natalie exclaimed, reaching out and grabbing his forearm. "This is exactly what I mean. And," she continued, "I have a bit of perspective on it now, and I'm not so sure we have any right..."

"Right?" Nick asked scornfully. He got up and walked over to the refrigerator. "I suppose we should just let Sarah keep her memories. Lets make Amy an orphan!"

"Who's going to believe her?" Natalie asked. "She's convinced herself it's a dream. She doesn't have any proof. What possible threat could she be, and who'd possibly know about it?"

"They'd know," Nick said quietly.

"'They' who? The ones Janette mentioned?"

"This conversation is over," Nick suddenly announced. "I'll see you tonight."

"Don't you dare!" Natalie shouted, jumping up. She knocked over her coffee in the process, but didn't bother to stop. Intercepting Nick on the way to the stairs, she all but punched him in the chest to get him to stop moving. "Don't you dare! We are going to have this conversation, and we are going to have it NOW!" She could feel the fury rising inside her, and she wanted to hit something. "Do you want to know what the last couple of months have been like for me? I can barely look you in the eye, because I was so embarrassed that you took me out to a nice restaurant and I got drunk. So drunk, that I had a blackout. Do you know what blackouts mean, Nick? It's a sign of alcoholism, so I've been worrying about that. What did I say? What did I do? How could I have done that? What must he think?

"I had to go down there tonight, on a case. I almost couldn't go in. Were they working that night? Did they see me? Who else saw me?

"I feel so stupid," she said helplessly. "That time you took Schanke's memories away, I sat there, right beside you and laughed. Ha ha. Well, you know what? It's not funny. It's not funny at all. In fact, it's horrible. It's like...it's like being raped, having something forcefully taken away that you didn't want to give but don't have the strength to stop-"

Nick grabbed her then, grabbed her roughly and shook her so hard her teeth rattled in her head. "Stop it! STOP IT!"

Natalie stared up at him, breathing hard. "We must look like toys to you," she said. "Is that it, Nick? Are we just playthings? Something to pass the time? Play policeman, dabble with finding a cure, mess with our heads. Is it all just a game? Were you laughing at me when I couldn't remember what had happened?"

They stood there at the base of the steps, Nick's fingers still digging painfully into her upper arms, for several moments. Natalie felt like her throat was constricted, that it was an effort to draw air into her lungs. And all the while she saw the scared rabbit look in Nick's eyes, the one that signaled the fact that he was thinking about bolting, about running away from this problem, like he probably had so many times in the past.

"All right," she said, her voice quieter and slightly calmer, though she could still hear a tremor in it. She quickly shrugged Nick's hands off her, and rubbed her arms. There'd be bruises tomorrow; she'd have to be careful not to let anyone see them, because they'd jump to all kinds of conclusions. "All right, lets just calm down now," she said, walking toward the windows. "Lets...lets analyze the situation."

She rubbed her forehead. "While I was at Azure, I had the feeling someone was waiting for me in the courtyard. Was that someone one of the ones Janette mentioned?"

"Nat, don't do this."

"Did I learn something about vampires that was considered too much of a threat?" A thought struck her, and she stopped and stared wildly at Nick. "Did I agree to let you take away my memories?" She could deal with it if she knew she'd been given a choice. When Nick looked away quickly, she knew that she hadn't been given the choice. "It probably never occurred to you," she said bitterly, then continued. "But if it was important enough, if it was to save my life, I probably would have gone along."

"Then trust me now, and just go along with it," Nick said, moving to stand beside her. "You have to trust me, Nat."

She thought the words, and fought with herself to keep from saying them. But she lost the battle. "I want to believe that I can trust you, Nick," she said helplessly. "But without knowing at least why you took my memories away, I can't. I know I probably should trust you, but that's the truth. I have to know why." She hated this. Trusting him should be easy, it should be natural. But this new revelation made her feel scared and small inside, vulnerable and sick. And it was a wound that she knew would only fester and get worse.

She heard Nick sigh in resignation, and turned to face him expectantly. "You aren't going to give up, are you?" he asked. "Either I have to tell you what you want to know, or you're going to go looking for answers on your own, aren't you?"

Natalie merely nodded. Nick motioned her over to the couch. After they were seated, he took her hand. "I would never laugh at you," he said sincerely. "And believe me when I tell you that taking away your memories was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do."

"I believe you."

Nick squeezed her fingers. "I had to do it to protect you."

"From the ones Janette mentioned," Natalie prodded, wishing Nick would at least give them a name of some sort.

"Natalie!" She was trying his patience.

"Nick!" she countered. "Don't you think I should know about them? If I know that big, bad-ass vampires might show up on my doorstep some day, don't you think I'll take a few extra precautions? I mean, if my life is in such danger that you have to go mucking around with my memories, don't I have a right to know about it? What are they, some kind of police force?"

Nick looked out the window for a few moments, rubbing his face. "It wasn't...The Enforcers. It was LaCroix."

"I see," Natalie said, nodding. "That's who was waiting for me at Azure?"

"He lured you there. You thought you were meeting me."

"Did he tell me some things about you?" she asked, and Nick looked up at her startled. "Bad things from your past, things you...don't want me to know about?" Her heart was flooded with a wave of sadness and compassion at the thought that Nick could be that terrified of what she might think about the truth.

Nick just continued to look at her, a shocked expression on his face. "I mean," she continued on, "It can't be about trying to find a cure for you, which I assume he knows about. Because we're still doing that." She paused, and looked at him. "We are still looking for a cure, aren't we?"

"It wasn't that," he said quickly, looking away. "It had to do with a...bargain...LaCroix and I made...a long time ago." He stood. "That's all I can tell you, Nat. I won't answer any more questions."

Natalie sat there blinking for a moment. "A bargain," she said flatly. "So now I'm a bargaining chip."

"Yes!" Nick said, turning on her angrily. "To LaCroix you're nothing but a tool, a weapon! If you don't like it, well that's too damn bad, Nat! That's just the way it is!" His mouth curled into a cruel smile. "How's that for the truth?"

Natalie put her head into her hands, and breathed deeply for a moment. She couldn't do this any more. "It's not very nice," she said, her words muffled by her hands. Looking up at Nick she added, "There's a lot more to this you aren't telling me." She quickly held up a hand when he started to speak, "But I won't ask you about it." She paused and licked her lips. "I trust you." The look of pure relief that flooded Nick's face almost broke her heart. Natalie was suddenly sorry it had ever been an issue between them.

Getting to her feet, she walked over to him, and squeezed his arm. "We have one more thing to deal with, and I have a request."

"What's that?" Nick asked, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close.

"First the request," she said, leaning her head against his shoulder and closing her eyes. "If something like this ever happens again, please trust me enough to be a part of the decision?" She felt Nick stiffen. "I can't say I'm happy with the solution, and I'm more than a little afraid of ending up like Lois Lane." She was trying to lighten the mood, but knew she wasn't succeeding when Nick tightened his arms around her.

"We'll have to rent those movies some night," he said quietly. "So I understand what you're talking about."

"Well, Superman 2 anyway," Nat said with a shrug. "What I mean is, trust me to make the right decision, and let you take the memories away if that's what has to be done. Don't just...don't just do it. I think that's the worst part of all this, is that you just went ahead and did it. I know you didn't like the rape analogy, but that's what it feels like. It feels like you violated me, like you could violate me any time you wanted."

"I did what I thought was best," he said, and she could hear the pain and defensiveness in his voice. "I wouldn't do it if it wasn't absolutely necessary."

"I know, and I am trying to see it from your perspective, even without all the information. But maybe you should try to see it from mine. I know I learned a lot of nasty truths today."

"I'll try."

"Good," Natalie said, reluctantly pulling out of his embrace. "That leaves just one last thing Are you sure you'll be able to hypnotize me again? If it comes to that?"

Nick grimaced. "Well, that's kind of complicated," he said after a few minutes.

"I know you tried once before and couldn't. What was different that night? Were you just more determined?" Natalie said the last with a small smirk.

"It wasn't really me," Nick said. "It was LaCroix."

Natalie frowned at this information. "I guess that makes sense," she said after a few moments. "He's older than you, and probably knows a lot more about being a vampire than you do." At these last words, she paused, and looked over at Nick apologetically. "No offense."

"None taken," Nick said stiffly, "But as it turns out, he just drugged you."

"He drugged me!" Natalie almost shouted. "He drugged me!" There was a flash, a brief memory of glasses clinking. "Oh my god, he must have put something in the champagne," she said, suddenly feeling numb. "He made a toast. I only had a few sips, but it must have been enough. I can...I can almost see his face now."

"I was afraid of this," Nick said. "You're starting to remember."

Natalie nodded. "Me too. That's why I asked you if you could do it again. LaCroix must have used an hypnotic. One of those date rape drugs."

Nick winced at the term. "When I got there, you were pretty out of it. I think he gave you more than he should have. After he left, and you started to wake up a little, I was...able to...you know."

"So you can't hypnotize me without the drug?" she asked.

"No," Nick said, shaking his head. "I tried a couple of times after we first met, but it never worked. You actually do sort of zone out for a little while, but it never lasts long, and you never do what you're told. You're just a very stubborn woman, Natalie Lambert."

Natalie wasn't certain she could handle too many more revelations this morning. She opened her eyes widely at this latest one, but decided not to comment. But then, her mind was flooded with another memory. "That happened with LaCroix, too," she said. "I remember it felt like drowning. It was suffocating."

"Natalie, listen to me," Nick said, taking her hand and leading her over to the kitchen table. Natalie noticed the spilled coffee and moved to clean it up, but Nick stopped her. "Leave it, I'll take care of it later. This is important."

She nodded and took a seat. Nick moved around the table, and also sat, facing her. He continued to hold her hand. "You're starting to remember," he said. "You asked me to trust you to make the right decision." Natalie nodded, knowing exactly where this was leading. Time to put her money where her mouth was, she thought, and trust him. While she wasn't thrilled with the idea of being drugged again, it seemed like the only choice.

Nick's thumb caressed the back of her hand, then he impulsively, lifted it to his lips. "I'm asking you now to make the right decision," he said, gazing earnestly into her eyes. "I wouldn't ask if it wasn't very important."

The question of why it was so important immediately rose on Natalie's lips, but she knew Nick had answered all the questions he was going to answer for one night. There was only one thing left to do.

"Trust me, Natalie."

She looked deeply into his blue eyes and saw the urgency in them. The care, and the concern.

Slowly, she nodded.

Natalie grinned when she caught sight of Amy waiting for her on the porch. "Hey there!" Natalie said, greeting Amy with a hug. "Do you know what movie you want to see? I don't think he's got any movie's out right now," Natalie said, tapping the teen magazine Amy was pouring over. The cover featured a smiling Leonardo DiCaprio. "When I was your age it was Shawn Cassidy."

"Who's Shawn Cassidy?" Amy asked, wrinkling her nose.

Natalie rolled her eyes. "Where's your mom?"

"In the back yard, I think."

"You get cleaned up while I talk to your Mom, and then we'll go, OK."

Amy's footsteps thudded up the steps as Natalie went in search of her sister-in-law, whom she found out in the back yard scrutinizing the flowerbeds.

"What's it going to be this year?" Natalie asked.

"Marigolds, I think. We haven't had those in a while." Sarah climbed the steps and joined Natalie on the patio. "Thanks again for doing this. I have to admit I'm kind of looking forward to having the house to myself for the evening."

"It's my pleasure. And you know all you have to do is ask and I'll be happy to spend some time with Amy."

Sarah smiled gratefully at her. "Oh, hey, Nick stopped by the other day, and mentioned that you two were going out to dinner tomorrow night. I didn't know you two were seeing each other."

Natalie frowned. "We're just friends," she said quickly. "When was Nick here?" For some reason the thought made her feel very uneasy. She wondered why Nick would have dropped in on her sister-in-law out of the blue. In fact, it was very unlike him, she thought.

"He stopped by two nights ago, on his way to work. Just to say hi." Sarah leaned closer to Natalie and whispered, "I think Amy's developing a little crush on him. She spent twenty minutes with him in her room introducing him to her stuffed animals. Then, out of the blue, she told him that he has blond hair, just like Leonardo DiCaprio." Sarah laughed at the thought, and Natalie found herself smiling too. "So just friends, huh?"

"Try not to sound too disappointed," Natalie said with a shrug. "We went out to dinner a couple of months ago, and had a really great time. He wanted to do it again, and we both happen to have tomorrow night off. It's just dinner. I figured I have to eat anyway."

"Sure," Sarah said, knowingly. "Just friends. If I were you, I'd snap him up in a heartbeat. Good looking, charming, single, straight. He is straight, isn't he?"

"As far as I know," Natalie said nodding, trying to quell the image of Janette that suddenly popped into her head.

"He's a good man," Sarah said, suddenly serious. "It was so nice of him to stop by the other day. I know he worked with Richard, and we knew him through you, but it was very thoughtful. Something about chatting with him really cheered me up a lot."

There was that uneasy feeling again, Natalie thought just as Amy ran out of the house, slamming the door behind her. She'd have to ask Nick about his visit to Sarah and Amy tomorrow night when she saw him.

"Ready to go?" Sarah asked, pulling Amy toward her and smoothing her hair. "You be good. Don't give your aunt any trouble, OK?"

"I won't," Amy said, giving her mother a quick kiss. "Bye Mom!" She grabbed Natalie's hand. "Aunt Nat, do you think next time Nick could come to the movie with us?"

"I think that can be arranged," Natalie said with a mischievous smile. "I bet he'd even share a bag of popcorn with you, too."

The End