see chapter one for disclaimers and copyrights...

A Splash of Gold
by elfin

Chapter Three - Return to the City

What had once been a Ford was now nothing but a lump of twisted metal, a burnt out shell that represented Attraidies' art. The dark vampire stood back and admired his handiwork - this was definitely his greatest success to date. They would find only scarce evidence that there had been a human in the car at all, but a helpful witness or two would give them the information they needed and Detective Nick Knight would be handed his late partner's charred badge that police investigators would find in the glove compartment of the wrecked car. Detective Donald Schanke of Toronto Metro Homicide was investigating undercover when a car chase ended in disaster. He lost control at high speed and went over the side of the road, taking to the air and crashing into a naked gas main, ripping the fuel tank and causing the car to explode. Detective Schanke would have been killed instantly.

"Nice work."
Attraidies did not take his eyes from the wreckage he had created. He ignored the slight amusement in the low tones that spoke to him. "It's a masterpiece."
"I would expect nothing less for the price you charge, Robert."
The other vampire bristled at the use of his real name. "Nicholas can afford it."
"Yes." LaCroix smiled tightly, and with one last glance at his newly-born grandson's faked demise, he leapt into the air.

***

From the balcony of the loft, dressed in silk black pajamas, Nick watched Schanke sleeping on the couch. His new nephew was lying on his back, hands composed on his chest, smile of some sly peace on his face.
"Does it feel odd, sharing your apartment with someone else?"
Nick smiled and leaned back into the red-silk clad arms that surrounded his waist. "Aside from your increasingly frequent visits, you mean?"
LaCroix leaned in, softly kissing the side of his son's neck. "I will leave you alone whenever you ask me to."
Nick turned slightly and grinned. "Oh, *now* you'll leave me alone?"
"Maybe." LaCroix's fingers slipped into the silk collar and pulled it across slightly, revealing the satin skin of his lover's shoulder line. With a cool tongue, he licked his way over Nick's collarbone, nipping and kissing his route, murmuring French words of love and desire. "Do you want me to?"
Nick dropped his head back against LaCroix's shoulder, closing his eyes. "Do I want you to do what?"
"To leave you alone?"
With a careful movement Nick pushed back against the hardening in his father's groin. "What do you think?"
"I..."
"I think you guys should use a bed more often." Both vampires looked up and then down to the floor below. Schanke was grinning up at them from where he leaned over the back of the couch. Nick felt LaCroix's sharp breath before he relaxed. He took his father's hand in his own and brought it to his lips, placing wet kisses across the pale flesh. LaCroix nipped Nicholas' ear and lapped at the single drop of blood released before he caged the beast with an unmerciful strength.
"I think someone should pay Aristotle a visit."

***

"Nicholas!" Aristotle looked up from the web page that filled all twenty-two inches of his computer screen. "Leaving so soon?" There was an old sympathy in his voice, and in his eyes, when he looked at Nicholas, and it made Nick smile; Aristotle had moved him a hurry many times before as he had continued to run from his father. "LaCroix came into town over two years ago. I actually expected you to come to me before now."

Still on the bottom step, Nick smiled at his old friend and shook his head. "Not this time, Aristotle." A moment's pause, and he extended his arm out to his left, back up the walled stone staircase leading out of the cellar office. Aristotle frowned as, with his arm still extended as if leading or beckoning something down the stairs, Nick took the last step down. Only then did the grinning blond vampire look back, smiling as his companion, hand held tightly in that of his son, joined Nick in Aristotle's line of sight.

"Nick... are you okay?" The older, wiser immortal stood slowly in LaCroix's presence, ready to help his friend rid himself of his cruel master once and for all, if that was the only way.
"I'm fine, honestly. I just wanted you to know that we've finally managed to work things out."
Aristotle was about to question Nick's obvious happiness wen he heard more, heavier footsteps on the stone. "More?"
"The reason for our being here, actually."

Schanke stopped as he reached the base of the stairs, and gazed about. Nick indicated the surprised and confused Aristotle. "Schank, Aristotle. The magician among us. Aristotle, Donald Schanke. My ex-partner, now nephew."
It took the bearded vampire a few moments to realize what was happening. "Who made him?"
"Constantine." LaCroix stated clearly. Aristotle rolled his eyes.
"And whose bright idea was it to bring the head of Toronto's most influential Mafia family over?" The question was out before he had time to think; Nick grimaced and LaCroix scowled. Aristotle extended his hand. "Good to meet you, Schanke. And where exactly did you have in mind for your relocation?"
"England." Schanke stated smugly.
"Oxford," Nick added quickly, smiling reassurance at his partner and ignoring his master's sharp glance. "In fact, I know somewhere I believe is for sale."

"You mean Aston Court!" Aristotle's fingers flew over the keyboard, all thoughts of web surfing forgotten as he saw his approaching commission in his mind's eye. "D'Vries' old place. Yes, that is for sale at the moment."
Nick caught LaCroix's surprised smile and answered with a mischievous one of his own. And then he turned his eyes to Schanke whose own gaze had filled with the image on the computer screen. "That?! I'm going to live there?!"
"Call it... a belated birthday present."
Schanke turned to stare at Nick as if he had gone insane. "A birthday present? Oh, no Nick, you can't."
"I can, believe me. Besides, Lucien and I have some... fond memories of that house. It'll be good to return there for a while."
Schanke nodded, no longer surprised by the altruistic nor the romantic side of his partner's true nature. He looked back at the screen, smiling wistfully. "Myra would love it."

***

Nick pulled the Caddy up against the curb and looked up through the windshield at the Schanke house. His partner's "funeral" was tomorrow morning, and he knew he had to see Myra, to say something, to offer some comfort and give her some explanation about why he would not be there to say goodbye to Schanke in person. Steeling himself for what was to come, Nick opened the door of his car and stepped out into the pouring rain.

He had worried that the emotions he was supposed to be feeling at the loss of his partner would not come to him during this meeting. The precinct had been easy. Everyone believed he was putting on a brave face, and Cohen had agreed that his taking the accumulated vacation time owed to him was for the best. But meeting Myra Schanke face-to-face, having to speak to her honestly and lie to her as best he could, he imagined was going to be more difficult. It only took one glance at her face, as he rounded the corner into the lounge, to prove to him that he had been wrong.

Her mother answered the door, and Nick found himself thanking God quietly for family, even if his own was out of the Lord's jurisdiction. He introduced himself and was lead down the hall. Framed photographs of the family hanging on every wall he looked at. He viciously stamped on the guilt that flared up suddenly, but not unexpectedly. Myra rose from the sofa to greet him as he entered the lounge and his eyes almost filled at the sight of her. "Nick...."
He took her offered hands and was drawn into a solid, tight hug borne of shared grief. "I'm so sorry for your loss."
"Thank you," she released him, motioning for him to sit down by her. "Would you like a drink of anything?"
"No, I'm fine, thank you." He looked at her for a long time, and she looked at him.
"Did he suffer, Nick? In that car...?"
He shook his head. "No. They say he would have... died on impact. It was very fast. He wouldn't even have known what was happening."
Myra nodded. Her life had been shattered yet still she held herself in a dignified manner, proud of her husband and supportive of her daughter. Nick guessed that only at night, only as she lay alone knowing that the next morning, and every morning for the rest of her life, the door would not open and her Don would not join his family for breakfast, only then would the facade slip.
"It's a little easier, I suppose," she started, as if reading his thoughts, "that he was hardly ever with me at nights." Nick felt a stab of guilt. "Mornings are the most difficult; trying to find a reason to get up and to face life." She paused, "You know, it's true what they say, that the world keeps turning and life keeps going no matter what happens to us. If it wasn't for my having Jenny...."
Nick reached out and gently took her hand in both of his. "How is she?"
"She... she understands perfectly. She knows why all these people are here, and that she won't ever see her father again." Myra looked up from their joined hands, and surprised Nick by smiling. "We will be all right, Nick."

For a short while they simply sat, Nick feeling more comfortable than he had believed he would. "How about you? How are you coping?"
Nick thought for a moment. "He was the best partner I could have ever wished for. I don't know what I'll do. I'm going away for a while." Myra nodded, as if she completely understood what he needed. "And... I won't be able to get to the funeral. I would dearly love to but...."
Myra's squeeze of his hand stopped him. "I understand completely. Don explained to me all about your allergy and the seriousness of its effects. He would understand too, I know he would." Nick nodded his thanks. "I don't know if we'll remain in the city much longer." She looked around. "Too many memories. Don always wanted to go to England." She met Nick's smile with another of her own. "Maybe we'll live that dream for him."
Nick could not be frightened by that thought... the romantic within him hoped they would meet again one day, the vampire within him knew Schanke could look after and control himself. The world was a big place sometimes. "He always talked about you," he said quietly. "We'd be driving to a crime scene, or staking out some house somewhere, or just sitting at the precinct.... He would tell me all about Jenny, about you and your interests. He was always hassling the Captain about vacation time. He was always hassling me about working nights...."
Nick trailed off, what could he say? I'm sorry that I'm a vampire and your husband ended up with me for a partner? I'm sorry I burn and smoke the moment I step out into the sunlight? I'm sorry I was away with my 1800 year-old lover when Don was bitten by one of my father's creations and taken from you forever.....
"You mustn't blame yourself for anything, Nick." Myra was there, smiling at him again, dabbing at her eyes as her mask slipped for just a moment. "Don loved working with you, he admired you. He was proud to be your partner and your friend. Just remember him for me, don't ever forget. That would be the legacy he would have wanted."

As Nick left the house and walked slowly to his car, he was surprised to feel his father waiting for him a little way from the Caddy. "LaCroix? Is everything all right?"
"Yes." The elder stepped toward his son. "I just... I wanted to make sure that you were all right. That can't have been easy, even I understand that."
Nick smiled, taking his father's offered hands in his own. "I had to it, I owed it to Schanke and to Myra."
"I know." LaCroix indicated the car. "Could we go somewhere quiet, just for a few minutes?"
"Of course."

Nick pulled up by the lake, switching off the engine and turning to his father. "What's wrong?"
"I was thinking, while you were with Mrs. Schanke, about death, about my ... many threats to your life over the years."
"Lucien, that's in the past, we agreed that."
LaCroix nodded. "I know, but some memories are fresher than others."

//LaCroix left the Azure restaurant furious and upset. He knew his son had been lying. Nicholas would not have bought Dr. Lambert across whether he loved her or not. But it had been a way of getting out of a situation, he himself had instigated, without losing face. He had not been lying about Fleur. Fleur had been the absolute light in his life for a long, long time. Yet he had long since understood Nicholas' desperate need to keep her mortal, and he had discovered her purity, innocence and beauty was also present in her brother. As the years had passed, he had begun to love Nicholas as he had his sister.

And so the reason for his wrenching sobs, as the elder took to the sky, was not that he had been denied his revenge but that he had once again threatened to kill his son for the sake of hurting some meaningless mortal. He had driven Nicholas further from him this night. Oh, his intention had been to try to ease the pain he sought within himself now and again, convincing himself that he not feel for Nicholas the aching he had long felt for his sister. He had purposely invited Dr. Lambert to dinner in order to take her from his son. But when Nicholas had appeared, had started to confuse the issues, LaCroix had found himself drowning in a situation that had quickly flared out of control. He and Nicholas had stood making threats and promises neither wanted nor meant. And the look on his son's face when he had taken the stake... oh gods, why was Nicholas still the only one with the ability to break open his cold stone heart with a single expression?

LaCroix landed at the doorway of his townhouse and slipped the key into the lock, his hand on the cold handle. He pushed the door open and stopped dead in his tracks, turning quickly, suspicious of the sudden arrived of his son. Nicholas was standing on the bottom of the three stone steps that lead up to the door, his hands pushed deep into the pockets of his long thick coat, his expression actually one that drew more tears from the elder vampire; he looked hurt, stung deep by something unexpected.

"LaCroix."
"Nicholas." LaCroix let the door swing open, turning fully to face his child. "What do you want?"
The suspicion and slight fear in his master's usually smooth, caressing voice confused Nick, but did not help his current state. "What do I want?! After the stunt you just pulled, after what you just did?"
"The matter is closed, Nicholas," LaCroix turned away and stepped inside. "Count yourself lucky that your friend is still alive."
"Wait!" Nick flew up the three steps and placed his hand on the outside of the door. In the hall light, his features were clearer, and the pain in his eyes stopped LaCroix from closing the door in his face.
"If you have something to say, Nicholas, say it and go."
"Why are you doing this? How could you threaten to end my life for a mortal? Do I truly not mean anything to you any longer?"
LaCroix stared at him. "Nicholas... you mean more to me than anything in this eternal life. To me, you are your sister and so much more. I love you so much that it scares me. But to tell you these things would be too difficult, and so I threaten you, I yell at you, I drive you away because that is easier for both of us."
The pain in Nick's eyes faded, and for a moment he was silent. When he spoke, his voice was a gentle whisper to cover his surprise "If that is so, could we not find another way to live? Please." LaCroix gazed at him, confused, as he slowly leaned forward to brush his lips over his father's. "Happy Valentines Day, Lucien."//

Nick stroked his hand down LaCroix's face and leaned in, meeting his master over the gear shift in a deep, passionate kiss of love, comfort and reassertion of the life that they had. "We are forever," Nick whispered against his father's lips. "Promise me."
"I promise you, Nicholas. Avec mon ceour."

***

Schanke was channel surfing when Nick arrived home. LaCroix had taken his leave at the lake to make arrangements for their travel, and to find someone to cover at CERK while he was away. Nick knew that Janette was not going to be pleased with their decision, but she had left them enough times in the past; she could survive without them for a time.

The television was switched off the moment Nick stepped foot into the loft, and Schanke was over by him, the questioning, desperate look in his eyes enough to make Nick wish that this night would end soon. "How is she?"
Gently, Nick lead his partner to the couch, sitting them both down. "She's okay. She's holding up, I think for Jenny more than anything." He let his own pain and sympathy shine bright in his deep blue eyes. "I told her that you talked about her every night, all the time." A blood-tinged tear ran over Schanke's cheek. "She will be fine, Schank. She will never want for anything, I promise you."
Schanke nodded. "Except her husband."
There was no answer to that.

"Does it get easier?" Schanke asked after a long silence. "Leaving, I mean?"
"It depends on the incarnation. When you start to care about people and you have to leave them, it is difficult. But I suppose it does get easier because you learn to distance yourself from those you know you will one day have to leave behind. As for our own kind, whether you're traveling together or apart, paths always cross again. It's just the way it works."
"And will you go on looking for your... mortality?"
Nick shook his head. "I couldn't bare to leave LaCroix behind now. There are immortals that I care about, as well as mortals. I can still atone for what I see as my sins, and remain what I am, what I have been for almost 800 years. There's a quote - "when you've lived as long as I have, you kinda get used to it". That's how it is for me now."
Schanke hesitated, but he finally reached out and squeezed his friend's arm, leaving his hand there. "At least you'll always be around, somewhere."
Nick smiled. "It'll be a long time before I'm very far from you, Schank." They left the meaning hanging, just being together, knowing each other, feeling like they had a couple of years to catch up on; years they had not known each other at all.

***

Nick leaned on the hood of the Cadillac, gazing over the car to his father standing in the garage door, arms crossed. "What, Nicholas?"
"LaCroix, I love this car."
"What could possibly happen to it?" The elder could not grasp the reason for his son's concern, but they had been standing like this for an hour. "It is perfectly safe here."
Nick shook his head. "LaCroix, you know how Gloria feels about me. She could drive it to the centre of the city and leave it to thugs, or ... or ditch it in the lake, or ..."
"Nicholas! She won't do anything of the sort. She may not like you but she knows the consequences of antagonizing me. Your precious car will be here when you return." Nick frowned, he knew LaCroix was right but walking away from the Caddy was difficult. "What can I do to convince you?" Nick rolled his eyes from his car to his father. "I give you my word, Nicholas. You know that's an unbreakable bond."
Nick hesitated, but finally he nodded. "All right. But if anything happens to her, you buy me a new one. Deal?"
LaCroix lifted his gaze heavenward for a moment before nodding. "It's like doing a deal with the devil," he muttered, but his eyes held a warmth when he looked back at his son. "Of course, Nicholas. It is a deal."

After thanking the female elder, the two vampires started down the driveway. "Why do you require an automobile anyway, Nicholas?"
"Pretense, LaCroix. Not that you'd understand the meaning of the word."
Gloria closed the garage doors and watched as the two vampires took to the air, still ribbing each other, the flight not silencing them for a moment, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. After almost a thousand years she could not get used to the idea of flying. Cars were the greatest invention, and despite Nicholas de Brabant's questionable taste in living, he had exquisite taste in vehicles. Still, it would not hurt to wait until they were out of the country before taking the Caddy for a test drive.

***

A brief goodbye hug from Natalie marked the end of Schanke's time in Toronto, at least for this incarnation. Nick walked her to the door and stole a hug of his own. "Take care of him, Nick. And take care of yourself, okay?"
"I promise."
"If you decide not to come back...."
"I won't leave without saying goodbye."
Nat nodded, and with one lingering look she closed the door between them.

Schanke watched as the two said goodbye. It was good just to have Nick around - he had survived living like this, place to place, life to life, for eight hundred years - he was a true source of inspiration as far as his ex-partner was concerned. He had no idea what he was going to do once he reached England. There was a lot more to learn, but he knew LaCroix would teach him everything he needed to know about his new existence. He looked up as Nick crossed the loft to stand with him at the window. "This all feels so final."
"I know. But try to think of it more as a new start, the beginning of a long and varied adventure." Nick smiled one of his patented 'nothing's as bad as it seems' smiles. "And you won't ever be alone unless it's what you want."
"You know, I never figured on making it to retirement. I always pegged myself as a victim of some gun-toting punk when I was older. I never imagined that this was what fate had in mind for me."
"I'm not sure fate ever has this in mind for anyone. Vampires tend to fight fate quite fiercely."

Schanke threw himself down in Nick's over-stuffed arm chair, remembering other times he had been here, ignorant of what his partner was, even who his partner was. At least he would have time, plenty of time, to know Nick, and a great many others whose paths his own life would now cross. It was exciting in a way. Don Schanke' Big Adventure. He smiled to himself, and grinned at Nick as he made himself comfortable on the couch. As a stray memory entered his mind he looked up. "So, I guess you were at Woodstock...."

******

Schanke pressed the center button on the remote and watched with a bare hint of sadness as the sunrise disappeared behind the thick blinds. England was as beautiful as he had imagined it would be, he only wished Myra could see and experience everything with him. He held onto the thought that maybe one day, when Jenny was older, Myra might wish to join him.

He turned from the blackness to the candlelit lounge, smiling at the two vampires in the conservatory. "Drinks?"
His partner looked up from his lover. "Shall I?"
"No," Schanke shook his head with a genuine, contented grin, "how could I disturb you?" He continued through to the kitchen of his new Oxfordshire manor house. Few fledglings lived in such comfort, but few fledglings had the family connections he had.

The previous night while exploring the city, Nick had found a club that he had felt drawn to; The Crypt. Within the walls they had found a thriving vampire community, many of whom recognized LaCroix despite the fact that his last visit to England had been centuries ago. So Schanke would not be alone if his present companions decided to return to Toronto. He would be fine, and he was happy.

Nicholas de Brabant smiled luxuriously, moving against the man lounging behind him. Caressing the silk covered back pressed against him, LaCroix kissed his son's neck lazily.
"This reminds me of Washington, Nicholas." He murmured in amusement. "Do you remember Washington?"

fin, at least for now....
elfin

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