Incarnations of Immortality
By The Bear!
Disclaimer: See Prologue
Room 1013, International Plaza Hotel
Scully slowly began to wake up. She
was laying on her side with Mulder spooned against her, his right arm wrapped
around her ribcage and his hand on her breast, thumb lightly tracing the
contours of her areola and nipple. His
breath was warm on the top of her head and his erection was nestled in the cleft
of her ass. All in all it was a
particularly wonderful way to wake up.
As soon as he felt her stirring he said “Good morning, beautiful.” and
moved his hand down her torso and between her legs.
Scully was slightly chagrined to realize that she was already wet.
She had woken up wet. She
felt wanton, needing him again already, wondering if she could ever get enough
of him. “Yep, I’m definitely
addicted.”
“Oh baby, you are so hot and ready.
I need you so badly” Mulder whispered huskily in her ear, reaching his
head down to nip at her earlobe. “You
are like a drug, Scully, I am hopelessly addicted to you.
I can’t get enough of you” he practically moaned in her ear.
“Oh God,” she said to herself as his words mirrored her thoughts,
“Thank You *so* much!!!” Out
loud she said, “Time for your fix, then Mulder.
I want you inside me, Now!” her tone demanding instant obedience.
Mulder lifted her right leg slightly and she moved her hand down to guide
him. He slipped inside her like he
was made to fit there, and began steadily thrusting into her.
After several minutes he began nibbling on her ear again and whispering
to her, “I finally figured it out, Scully.”
“Oh… What’s... That…
Mulder?” she panted out between thrusts.
“The reason I exist. Why I
was born.” Mulder crooned to her.
“W-w-why-y-y” she stuttered out as he increased his pace.
“This, Scully. To be inside
you. To make love to you.
To be in love with you.”
She wanted to say that she loved him too, but he chose that moment to
begin grinding his fingers in tight circles over her clit.
Her orgasm washed over her in slow lapping waves,
“Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-ohhh, Yes! Yes,
Mulder, Yes!” she shouted.
Mulder paused inside her and lightened the pressure of his fingers against
her, gently stroking as she rode it out. He
was close himself when he suddenly felt Scully tightening around him in a wave,
starting at the base of his penis and moving up to the tip.
“Oh God! What did you just
do, Scully?” She brought his hand
up to her mouth and sucked his wet fingers into her mouth.
Then she did it again and Mulder felt a warm tingling beginning to build
in his groin.
She smiled around his fingers as she heard him start to moan.
She gripped him again inside her, and again- like she was milking him.
“Which, I suppose I am, in a way,” she thought.
She heard him hoarsely whisper that he was going to cum, and she gave out
her own low throaty moan, encouraging him to do just that.
It was too much for him to
Scully laughed in delight.
“Yep, I’ve got it bad,” he said.
“Crack addicts are going to see me, and say, ‘Damn, junky- you better
get your ass to rehab! You’re
outta control!”
Scully was laughing so hard that tears were running down her face.
“Enough, Mulder! I think we
need a shower, as in right now,” she said with a wide smile on her face.
“We’re sticky.”
Mulder grabbed on tight and rolled her over the top of him and into a
seated position on the edge of the bed. Then
he stood up, looked her in the eye and said, “Never let it be said that Fox
Mulder isn’t his lady’s obedient love slave.”
Before she could respond to that he suddenly pulled her to her feet while
bending down towards her. The next
thing she saw was the world invert itself and she found herself slung over
Mulder’s shoulder, being carried through to the adjoining door to her room and
into the bathroom.
He gently set her down and said “Go ahead and start it, I will join you
momentarily,” leaving her to take care of her morning needs while he went back
next door to do the same.
========== X-FILES ========== FOREVER KNIGHT ========== HIGHLANDER ==========
While watching him wash his hair she had noticed the wound on his temple
and asked him about it. He had said
it was a long story and after the shower he would order some room service and
tell her all about it.
As they sat at her table, drinking coffee, having just finished breakfast,
Mulder was uncomfortably silent. Scully
looked at her partner, now her lover, and wondered what had him looking so
pensive. “Well, Mulder?”
He told her about him and Knight seeing the swordsman from the other night
and deciding to follow him, “We were just going to see where he went, and then
call for backup, Scully” he said when her eyes narrowed at him.
He then went on to tell her about being spotted, the alley and the fire
escape. He got to the point where
the guy was standing over him with the sword, and the cryptic words he said just
before Nick popped up across the roof and shot him.
Scully was confused at this point “But If Detective Knight was clear
across the roof and behind you, why didn’t this guy see him and duck behind
the air conditioner? Why just stand
there and get shot?” she asked. “And
where is the body?”
“Well, I have a theory on the first part, but you’re not going to like
it.” Mulder sheepishly said.
“Oh Mulder, not the vampire thing again?” she sighed.
He just nodded. “It gets
better m b, Scully” he said.
“What, the perp. was a vampire too?
And let me guess, he turned to dust and blew away, right?” she said,
exasperated.
“Uh, good guess, but… no.” He
then went on to tell her about the guy coming to, impaling Nick and taking a
dive when Mulder shot him.
“So he was wearing a vest, Mulder.”
Knight should have been more careful.
Besides the wound couldn’t have been that bad, I saw him last night and
he looked fine.” Scully was still
in denial about the vampire thing. “Anyway,
what happened to the body?”
Mulder responded to the first part again, “Scully, I had to pull the
sword out of his chest.”
Scully just sat there with her mouth open.
She knew Mulder would not lie to her, even when they disagreed on things,
she usually just felt that his belief in the supernatural and aliens skewed his
interpretation of things. “As in
what, Mulder? The tip was caught
under the skin…”
“As in he was sitting upright with his back against the parapet, the
sword sticking straight out from his body.”
He shook his head slightly, remembering his excitement at living (as it
were) proof of the supernatural, combined with the fear that his ‘proof’
might take that opportunity to ‘get supernaturally medieval on his ass’.
“I had to use both hands, Scully. I
ended up having to put one foot on his shoulder to keep him from coming forward
before I could get it out.”
“Mulder, I…” there had to be an explanation, and she would find it.
Maybe Knight was wearing a vest and it was stuck in that.
Whatever it was she would leave it for now.
“What about the body Mulder?”
“You mean what happened to the guy Knight shot three times, and I
emptied an entire clip into, knocking him off of the top of a 4 story building,
where he landed on the concrete in the alley below?
That body?”
“Yes Mulder, what happened to it?” she asked, getting impatient.
“After I pulled the sword out of Nick and gave him his flask of blood to
drink, I looked over the edge of the building and watched our perp get up and
run away.”
She was stunned. “Not
possible, Mulder.”
“Tell me about it, Scully,” he said.
“But how…”
“I have a theory about that too. Do
you want to hear it?
“He’s a vampire too?”
“Nick says no. Besides, if
he was, why climb the fire escape? Nick
didn’t. And why the sword?
They aren’t very deadly to vampires, unless you cut off their heads,
but a good sharp wooden stake would be better in a fight, more debilitating.”
Mulder smiled, “at least the sword didn’t seem to bother Nick much
once I pulled it out. He didn’t
look like he was in a lot of pain, and once he downed the blood the wound healed
almost instantly.”
Scully
looked like she was about to choke
Mulder pressed on, “I don’t know what he is, but based on last night
and Saturday night, I would say that whatever he is, there are more of them out
there, and appears that the only way of killing them permanently is by
decapitation. Nick said that the guy
was dead after he shot him. He said
that he could hear the heartbeat stop. It
was like the guy woke up from death; one moment he is dead, the next he gasped
for air and came back to life. That
surprised Nick long enough that the guy was able to stab him before he could
react. There was also a pause of
several seconds between when he hit the ground, and when we saw him run off.”
Scully was having a hard time digesting all of this.
“Look, Scully. Nick said it
was up to me whether or not to tell you about him.
He said it would be dangerous if you knew, that there are those in his
‘community’ whose job it is to keep knowledge about vampires out of mortal
hands. We would be targeted for
death if they found out that we knew. I
didn’t want to tell you Scully.”
“Mulder,” she began.
He lowered his eyes to his lap and interrupted, “I know you don’t want
me to ‘protect’ you from danger, Scully… I can’t help wanting to
anyway.” He looked once more into
her eyes and continued, “But, I knew you were going to find out eventually and
if you knew that I kept it from you, you’d kick my ass.” he said with a
smile.
“Mulder,
please don’t take this the wrong way- I believe that you believe these
things…”
“But you need proof, right Scully?”
Mulder interrupted. “It’s
OK Scully. I am a believer, but if
someone brought this to me, I would want to see proof too.”
“I don’t know what to think, Mulder.
I trust you, and if you say you saw it happen, then I believe that you
did. I just don’t know that there
aren’t other explanations that might be applied.”
Scully said, almost apologetically.
Mulder wondered for a moment at her apologetic tone.
She didn’t usually say it like that when she thought his theories were
crazy. Then it came to him that she
must believe that he would be mad at her for not conforming to his beliefs now
that they had advanced their ‘relationship.’
He shook his head ruefully. He
was a lucky man to have a woman that would be so solicitous, without taking the
easy way out by giving in to the desire to humor her lover.
He wanted to reassure her, “It’s ok, Scully.
I love you! I love the Dana
Scully who clings to scientific explanation as firmly as I believe that some
things are beyond science. I love
the Dana Scully who makes me come up with evidence to back up my beliefs.
The woman that challenges me to look beyond what I want to see, and find
out what the truth is. I love the
person who is willing to respect the journey, even if she doesn’t always agree
on the destination.” He reached
across the table and grasped her small hand in his large one, lacing their
fingers together. “I don’t want
you to change who you are, any more that I am going to change who I am or what I
believe. I want *my* Dana Scully,
not some pale reflection of me.”
Scully didn’t think it was possible for her to love Mulder any more than
she already did, but once again his belief in ‘extreme possibilities’ won
out. “Sometimes I think you are
crazy, Mulder. Other times I know it
for a fact,” she said with a teeth-baring grin.
“However, you are also, without a doubt, the man I love more than life
itself.”
Mulder squeezed her hand and placed a sensual kiss on her palm.
“Nick said he would call this afternoon and we could discuss it at his
place. You can see if he will let
you examine him enough to prove it to yourself.
If he is running an elaborate hoax on me, you will have a great
opportunity to prove how gullible I am.” He
smiled and changed the subject, for now, “Why don’t you tell me how your
second seminar was?”
She recognized the tactic for what it was, but went along anyway and told
him about what was going on with her while he was out gallivanting with vampires
and unkillable headhunters.
========== X-FILES ========== FOREVER KNIGHT ========== HIGHLANDER ==========
Nick didn’t have nearly the trouble telling Natalie about the events on
the apartment roof that Mulder did with Scully.
They were lounging at the dining table in their robes.
She just listened; gasping appropriately when he told her the perp. had
come back to life and stabbed him with a sword, and shaking her head in wonder
when he described the fall, and subsequent recovery and escape.
She was concerned when he told her about Mulder knowing about vampires,
and possibly involving his partner. “Won’t
they be in terrible danger, Nick?”
“Possibly, but Mulder already knew a little bit about vampires, as he
had had encountered them before, and I was unable to remove the memory from
him.”
Natalie thought she heard him mutter “damn resistors,” but chose to
ignore it. “Aren’t you concerned
that he will report you to the FBI?” she asked.
I don’t think he will report me personally, and his previous reports
about vampires have been ignored.” Nick
thought for a moment, “I think he’s kind of like the reporters who write for
those tabloid magazines, they report about vampire attacks all of the time.
I know that some of those reports are accurate, because I was aware of
the events before the report was published.
However, the Enforcers don’t get involved because no one credible pays
attention to tabloids. If every time
the National inquirer reported about a vampire attack the reporter turned up
dead or missing, well, credible news agencies might actually start sniffing
around.”
“So they take no action in those cases?”
Natalie asked.
“The vampire that was careless enough to get caught usually gets
‘disappeared,” but that’s about it,” Nick replied.
“Meaning that we would be in danger, right Nick?”
Natalie was concerned with Nick’s seemingly careless attitude about
this situation. “You won’t tell
your own partner, but you’ll bring these FBI Agents in on it?”
Nick realized that he had sounded pretty cavalier about the whole
situation, but that wasn’t the case at all.
He was madly trying to think of ways to keep the lid on this situation.
“Nat, I’m glad to see that you appreciate the gravity of this
situation. It is serious, and I am
concerned.” Nick took his
beloved’s hand in his own and said “Mulder already knows.
I didn’t tell him, and my denials were meaningless once I had to ask
him to pull the sword out. I tried
to whammy him, and failed. He is a
resistor. My only other options are
to kill him, or try to convince him to keep his mouth shut; I presume that you
would agree that killing him is not acceptable?”
“Of
course you can’t kill him, Nick…”
He interrupted, “The Code demands it Natalie!
We already face death for allowing him to live with the knowledge he
has.” His face softened at the
resignation on her face. “As for
his partner, I advised him not to tell her.
I was completely candid about the danger, but I know that he will.
I can’t really blame him for doing so, either.
It would be difficult to keep something like that from someone you are so
close to, and work with so closely. It
would be like keeping you in the dark if I had found out that
“You are right, of course, Nick. I
am just concerned about endangering them and ourselves.
Besides, I kind of like Dana. I
empathize with her.” Natalie
sighed.
Nick smiled and said, “You mean because she and Mulder remind you of us
for the past six years?”
Natalie laughed and said, “Do you think that everyone who saw us
realized how hopelessly in love we were with each other?
In retrospect I feel so blind for missing all of the little clues you
were leaving for me.”
“No more than I feel, Nat. I’m
supposed to be a crack detective, and I couldn’t see the evidence that was
right before my eyes.” He ruefully
shook his head. “Speaking of our
two clueless FBI agents, we’re probably going to need their help to solve this
case. We can’t really use our
normal contacts on this one, and they have a pretty good reputation for solving
‘paranormal’ cases. We will just
have to impress on them both the importance of discretion in this matter.”
They sat in silence for a moment.
“You know, Natalie, you brought up my keeping this secret from
“Why now Nick? I mean, I
think she deserves to know, but why change your mind now?”
“There are several reasons, Nat. First,
she is already in danger just because she knows about vampires at all, and she
is too nosey to keep from looking where she doesn’t belong, and asking
questions she shouldn’t ask. Second,
I worry about her getting hurt if she tries to ‘cover my back’ when it
isn’t necessary. Third, I am
getting the impression that she and Vachon are getting very close.
She may not be among the ranks of the living for long,” Nick mused.
“I think Vachon would be pushing for it himself if it wasn’t for me
threatening him.” Nick chuckled.
“You threatened him, Nick? Why?”
Natalie asked.
“When
Natalie laughed, picturing Vachon’s face when Nick told him that.
“Yes, he wasn’t pleased, to say the least.”
Nick laughed. “Anyway,
I’m going to give Mulder a call and I’d like you to pick them up if that is
ok, Nat?”
“You mean I get to drive the Nick-mobile all by myself?
Are you sure the sexual tension hasn’t addled your brain?”
“Hmm, you’re diagnoses sounds serious, doctor, what would you
prescribe for this terrible, terrible condition?” he asked, kidding around.
Natalie blushed lightly, but kept a straight face when she replied,
“There is no cure, Nick. However,
with rigorous exercise, and intense therapy sessions, there is no reason you
couldn’t lead a normal, healthy life.”
Nick chuckled and picked up the phone to call the plaza.
He told Mulder that Natalie would have the desk call them when she got
there to pick them up. As he hung up
the phone and turned around to make a comment to Natalie, he froze, his mouth
hanging open at the sight before him. Natalie
had dropped her robe to the ground and stood before him, naked.
She kneeled before him and pulled open his robe, grasping his penis,
already half-erect just at the sight of her nude form.
“Wha-What are you doing, Nat?”
“It’s important that you not miss your therapy sessions Nick,” she
said, and then lifted his penis and gave it a long lick from the base to the
underside of the head.
Nick groaned and said, “Yes, doctor.”
Natalie began a relentless assault on Nick’s member.
“Never let it be said that I am not goal-oriented,” she thought.
She varied between taking him deep into her throat in long strokes,
sucking as hard as she could as she slid onto and off of him; and short bobs of
the head, vigorously rubbing her tongue side-to-side on the sensitive underside
of the head, while stroking the shaft with her hand.
Her other hand stroked his balls, focusing on the underside and perineum.
When she felt him getting close, she let go of his balls and thrust her
wrist up to his face for him to sink his teeth into, while she took his penis
deep into her throat and began humming with delight at the incredible gasps and
moans she was eliciting.
Nick took his beloved’s proffered wrist and tried to pull away before
biting, but she was locked to his groin, and not letting go.
“I am the luckiest man in the history of the earth,” was his thought
as he bit down and felt the warm blood fill his mouth.
Natalie concentrated on the joy she felt and repeated, “IloveyouIloveyouIloveyou,”
in her mind as he bit down. She
wanted him to know the depth of her feelings, and the pleasure she felt from
doing this for him.
Nick was assaulted with Natalie’s love and was surprised at just how
much pleasure she felt, performing this act on him.
“If this is your idea of therapy, I may need daily sessions,” he
thought to her through the bloodlink.
Natalie withdrew from him with a popping sound as he withdrew his fangs
from her wrist. She chuckled and
said “Daily? I’m afraid your
condition may require more frequent treatment than that.”
“Once you come across, Natalie, we will be able to share blood a lot
more often- and for a much longer time,” Nick said with naked desire in his
eyes.
“Soon, beloved!” she replied with a thrill running through her.
“I’ll call tonight and arrange for vacation as soon as possible.
Will you have any trouble getting time off?”
“I never use it, so I don’t think it should be a problem.
Besides, I have an idea.” Nick
answered.
“Really?
What?” Natalie asked
“What would you say to a very short engagement, followed by a long
honeymoon?” Nick asked.
“Wow. Exquisite looks and
devastating intellect- in one package; I’m such a lucky girl!”
Natalie said with a smirk on her face.
“Why don’t you get dressed and pick up our intrepid Feds?
Maybe later I’ll show just what a lucky girl you really are.”
Nick said, smirking right back.
“What are you going to do while I’m gone?”
“I need to call LaCroix. We
will probably need to see him before the night is out, and he might even be
helpful on this case.” Nick said.
========== X-FILES ========== FOREVER KNIGHT ========== HIGHLANDER ==========
Room 1013, International Plaza
Hotel
“Natalie? Why is Natalie
picking us up, Mulder?” Scully
asked after he had explained the phone call to her.
Mulder tilted his head toward the window and raised his eyebrows with a
slight grin on his face.
Scully looked out the window for a moment trying to figure out what was
out there that would prevent… “Oh”
she said, frowning slightly at him and turning toward the window to collect her
thoughts.
Mulder watched her for several minutes before he walked up behind her.
He paused for a moment before he wrapped his arms around her, just below
her breasts, pulling her tightly up against his body, chuckling lightly at his
own hesitation.
“What’s funny, Mulder?” Scully
asked somewhat snappishly, thinking he was laughing at her skepticism.
“I stood there for a moment, wanting you, wishing I could put my arms
around you,” Mulder said, still laughing at himself.
“I am so used to pining after you like a love-sick teenager, that I
forgot for a moment that it’s OK now.” he said.
She smiled at that. “What a
sweet adorable man I have,” she thought. She
leaned her head back against his chest, molding herself to him.
“It’s more than ok, Mulder,” she purred at him.
“However…” she began, feeling Mulder start to swell against her
lower back, “You’d better put that thing away.
We have to go see your ‘vampire cop,’ remember?” she teased.
She turned around in his arms and draped her arms around his neck, and saw
him try to stifle a grimace when her arm hit the wound she had made on his neck
last night. She was instantly
solicitous, “Oh, Mulder. I’m so
sorry about that…” she said, blushing at the memory of it, of how out of
control she had been.”
Mulder tightened his grip when Scully began to pull away.
“Don’t be, Scully. I love
it,” he said sincerely. When he
registered the skeptical look on her face he continued, “I think it’s damn
sexy, and yes it is sore. However,
every time I feel it I remember what led up to it, what I was doing, how you
were responding.” He chuckled at
his next thought, and decided to say it out loud, “It’s like a merit badge
or something- I finally got my ‘Scully Orgasm’ medal.
I hope it never heals.”
Scully laughed indulgently. “Mulder-
you are such a dope!” she said snuggling her head into his chest and hearing
his soft, “yeah, but I’m your dope.”
“Uh, Mulder?”
“Yeah, Scully?”
“Have you given any, ah, thought to what we do when we get back to
DC?”
“You mean how do we handle our new status at work?
Or in public?”
“Yeah, either… both. I
guess?” Scully sighed heavily,
“What is our new status, exactly? I
mean- I don’t want Skinner to separate us, but I don’t want to hide either,
but I’m worried that *they* might use it against us, but…”
“Scully, I think they already know.
Everyone thinks we have been sleeping together for years, even Skinner
thinks we are together.”
“What?!” she yelped. “Skinner
thinks we have been sleeping together?”
Mulder laughed, “I don’t know if he specifically thinks that, but
I’m pretty sure that he thinks we are ‘together’.”
“What makes you say that?”
“Remember the last budget meeting, after we walked out I had to go back
in because I forgot my pen?” Mulder
asked.
“What about it?” Scully
asked back.
“I overheard the tail end of a discussion between Hoynes and Skinner.
Hoynes had said something about you, and Skinner was telling him to keep
it to himself. Just before they
walked out the door Hoynes asked him why and Skinner said that if I had
overheard it I would have torn out his tongue and… lets just say ‘reinserted
it, rectally’.”
Scully absorbed that for a moment and then asked, “What did Hoynes say,
Mulder?”
“Nothing,” Mulder said. “That’s
when they saw me and they both just shut up.
I explained that I had forgotten my pen and when I got back out of
Skinner’s office, Hoynes was gone.”
“No Mulder, what did he say to Skinner in the first place?”
“Oh.” Mulder smiled, “He
said your ass looked good enough to lick.”
Scully blushed slightly and said, “What a jerk!”
“Mulder smiled even wider and said, “Actually Scully, I agree with
him, though I certainly would never share it with Skinner.”
Scully blushed even harder.
Mulder added, “But you’re right, he is a Jerk.”
Mulder slid his hands up her back to her shoulders, and down her arms
until he was holding both of her hands in his, “I don’t want to hide either.
There isn’t really any policy that forbids us from seeing each other.
They can only separate us if it becomes an issue, if our performance
suffers of if they caught us ‘in flagrante delicto’.
What do *you* want to do, Scully?”
“We just won’t say anything about it.
At work we should behave like we always do.
What we do on our own time is none of their business.”
She gave Mulder’s hands a squeeze and looked up at his eyes.
“Ok?”
“So long as you agree that while we are on the road, time in our hotel
rooms constitutes ‘our own time’, I think I could abide by that,” Mulder
said with a grin.
“And lunch! Lunch time is
definitely our own time,” Scully growled suddenly, as though someone was going
to contradict her.
Mulder laughed out loud, wrapped his arms around her waist and picked her
up, spinning them both around. He
set her down and said, “Agreed, Agent Scully.”
Then he kissed her soundly and held her tight to him.
She wrapped her arms around his waist and snuggled against his chest.
They stood like that- swaying slightly, as if dancing to music that only
they could hear, until the phone rang.
========== X-FILES ========== FOREVER KNIGHT ========== HIGHLANDER ==========
Nick phoned the Raven right after Natalie left to get Mulder and Scully.
He was a little nervous because his newly found happiness was so
different from his life for the last several centuries.
There was still a small part of him that believed that it was all going
to end, suddenly and badly. He put
that thought out of his head and focused on his reconciliation with his father,
and his overwhelming love for his betrothed.
“Nicolas.” LaCroix said.
“What is it that could not wait for nightfall, my son?”
Nick still wasn’t used to hearing LaCroix call him ‘son’ either.
“I wanted… that is, I didn’t want…
I want to come by tonight, but I can’t until late.”
“Certainly, Nicolas, but you do not need my permission for that.
You may visit as late as you wish.”
LaCroix said, wondering what had come over his son now.
“I would like to bring Natalie with me, father,” Nick said.
“Ah, I see. Things went well
then, I presume?” He would have
thought he would feel it if Nicolas had brought her across, “Is she mortal
still, Nicolas?”
“For now, Yes. Things went
very well, father.” Nicolas said.
“By all means, Nicolas. Bring
the good doctor along. I would like
an opportunity to speak to her.” LaCroix
wondered if his son was still hesitant about trying to bring her across.
“Do you need my help with her transformation, Nicolas?”
“Thank you father, but I am not worried about that.
I need your advice on an unrelated matter, however.”
Nick said. “I had an
unusual encounter Saturday night.” Nick
went on to explain the events on the way back from the airport.
“The presence of the Agents kept me from using any extraordinary
measures to apprehend the individual,” he said at the end.
“Most unusual, Nicolas. I
cannot say that I have ever seen such an event before."
Nick knew that LaCroix would eventually find out about the rest, so he
told him up front. “There is
more.” He told LaCroix about last
night, and the two agents coming over as they spoke.
“You realize the danger you place them in by revealing yourself,
Nicolas? Not to mention the danger
you face yourself if the enforcers ever found out.”
LaCroix shook his head at his impetuous progeny.
“He already knew about The Community, LaCroix.
He has met our kind twice before.”
Nick sighed, “Also, he is a resistor.
I hardly think that killing him would be in the best interest of The
Community. The death of an FBI agent
would lead to quite an investigation.”
“What will you do then Nicolas?”
“I will just have to persuade them to remain silent.
Either one would be resistant to such a suggestion; however, there is
another factor that will help our case significantly.”
Nick said.
“And what is that?” LaCroix asked.
“They are deeply in love with each other, though each is trying to hide
it from the other.” Nick replied.
“They will do anything to protect the other from harm.
I think I can impress on them exactly how much danger their knowledge
places them in. They will keep
silent out of fear for the other’s safety, where they would not for their
own.”
LaCroix laughed.
Nick knew why he was laughing and grinned ruefully.
“Yes, they remind me of Nat and myself.
It is obvious to everyone but them.”
LaCroix said, “I often wonder how the human race even manages to
continue, in the face of their own folly.”
Nicolas returned to the matter at hand, “Would you make some discrete
inquiry regarding this man who attacked me last night?
Mulder postulated that beheading them would render them permanently dead,
but that is based on a single, as yet unexplained, incident.
I am concerned at what kind of creature I am facing, and how many of them
there might be.”
“If I have not heard of their kind in 2000 years of existence, I doubt
that any inquiry I could make would be helpful; however, I shall look into the
matter.”
“Thank you Father. I will be
by with Natalie sometime after the Raven closes.”
========== X-FILES ========== FOREVER KNIGHT ========== HIGHLANDER ==========
Natalie seemed somewhat withdrawn, Mulder thought, as they drove back to
Nick’s place. Not unhappy, she was
smiling most of the time, but it was as if her focus was inward.
He looked at Scully in the seat next to him, “This car is big enough
for at least 3 in the front,” he thought while watching her.
She was quiet also, stealing glances at Natalie, but not commenting.
Mulder thought the tension needed to be broken, so he said, “So, the
sunlight part is true, huh? What
other myths are true? Which ones
aren’t?”
Natalie was having pleasant thoughts about her upcoming wedding and
especially the honeymoon when Mulder’s question snapped her out of her
daydream as though she had been slapped. She
floundered for a bit, not really feeling that it was her place to discuss this
with them. She said, “I see you
chose to disregard Nick’s warning, agent Mulder.”
She glanced at him and then Scully for a moment before continuing, “He
wasn’t joking you know. This is
extremely dangerous for you both- if anyone found out…” she sighed, “you
should save your questions for Nick.”
Scully
finally spoke, “You really believe that Detective Knight is…”
“If it is OK with Nick, I would be happy to discuss the symptomology
with you Dana, but why don’t we just wait until we get to the loft.
I would feel a lot more comfortable talking about it there- if you
don’t mind.”
Scully shrugged her shoulders and said, “Ok”.
Mulder just shrugged and thought, with some amusement, of the look he was
sure he was going to see on her face when the question of the existence of
vampires was proven to her satisfaction.
========== X-FILES ========== FOREVER KNIGHT ========== HIGHLANDER ==========
They arrived at the loft approximately 15 minutes later.
The rest of the trip had been quiet, each of them lost in their own
thoughts.
Natalie punched in the code and escorted them into the elevator.
As they rode up Mulder asked, “You live in a warehouse?”
Natalie said, “Uh, I don’t exactly live… that is, I have an
apartment… Um, Nick’s been here
for about 6 years.” she finished, blushing.
“Oh, sorry. I thought you
guys were…” Mulder gestured to her ring.
“Um, how long have you known him?”
“About 6 years, and we are, uh, together- he’s my fiancé.”
“Oh, how long have you been engaged?”
Mulder asked, curious about what had to be a very unusual relationship.
“If you don’t mind my asking, that is,” he added when she
hesitated.
“Uh, for about,” Natalie’s eyes dropped down her watch, “eleven
hours I guess.”
Suddenly Scully burst out laughing. She
remembered Natalie’s parting shot at the bar last night.
“So that’s what you meant.”
Natalie just stared at her.
Scully replied to Natalie’s look of confusion, “Last night... at the
lounge? Remember what you said to
me?”
Comprehension slowly dawned on Natalie just as the elevator reached the 3rd
floor. As she opened the door she
asked, “And did you take my advice?”
Just for a moment all thoughts of vampires and unkillable sword-fighters
left their minds and they were two women newly, and madly, in love.
Scully’s smile lit up the elevator and Natalie said, “I see that you
did. Oh, Dana, I am so happy for
you!”
Mulder was bewildered by this sudden turn of events.
He swore he could hear Rod Serling whispering in his mind, “Submitted
for your approval…” He looked out of the elevator and noticed Nick
approaching. He shrugged at the
questioning look in Nick’s eyes at the antics of the ladies who were now
laughing at the expression on Mulder’s face.
Nick said, “Mulder, Agent Scully, welcome.”
He gestured at the couch by the fireplace and said, “Please have a
seat. Would you like something to
drink? I have orange juice,
Gatorade… uh, water,” he trailed off. “I
have a very nice port that we didn’t finish this morning if you would prefer a
glass of wine.”
“Ah, whatever you’re having is fine,” Scully said.
Mulder just laughed, as did Natalie. Scully
blushed as she realized why.
Nick jumped in quickly, “A glass of wine then?”
He turned away towards the kitchen at her nod, Natalie joining him.
Mulder and Scully went over to the couch, looking over the enormous room
that was the loft as they went. The
sat down closely together and Scully, who was feeling somewhat chagrined,
whispered in Mulder’s ear, “No coffins Mulder.”
Nick, of course, heard Scully’s comment and laughed out loud.
He repeated it for Natalie’s benefit and she laughed as well.
This was certainly going to be an interesting afternoon; much better than
a boring conference.
Nick and Nat sat down in the chairs facing the couch, after placing two
glasses of port on the coffee table for Mulder and Scully.
“Agent Scully, we don’t sleep in coffins,” Nick began.
Scully blushed furiously.
“Nor do we require dirt from our graves,” Nick mused.
We don’t turn into bats or vapors.
A bite, or three, will not make you a vampire.
Crosses, garlic, and holy water do work, to a degree, depending on the
individual. Sunlight and stakes will
kill us, as will decapitation. Our
senses are heightened, strength and speed increased, and, yes we can fly.
Any other questions?” Nick
said with a smile.
Mulder of course was brimming over with questions but deferred to Scully.
She was the one who needed proof positive.
“Detective Knight, I have to admit that I have seen things,
extraordinary things, in my life that many people would find difficult to
believe. I hope you won’t take
this as an insult, but I don’t believe in vampires.”
Scully said.
Nick laughed out loud at that. “Agent
Scully, I apologize for laughing, but you have to understand that this entire
conversation is entirely the opposite of the normal course of events.
I would normally be trying to convince you that there are no such things
as vampires, and that I certainly am not one myself.”
Nick shook his head as his laughter subsided.
“What do you need to convince yourself?
Short of a full autopsy that is.”
Scully was starting to hear the voice of Rod Serling herself.
“This is ridiculous,” she thought.
Out loud she said, “I don’t know detective, I feel silly even having
this conversation.”
“The whole package then,” Nick said.
He downed his glass of blood in a swallow and set it down on the table.
He willed his eyes to change, then bared his teeth and let his fangs
drop. He saw Scully’s eyes widen,
heard her heart start to race. He
slowly stood up out of his chair and then rose slowly into the air.
Scully felt her heart pounding in her chest as she saw Detective
Knight’s eyes change and his fangs descend.
She felt like a sparrow caught in a serpent’s gaze and had to restrain
herself from drawing her sidearm and shooting.
She tasted the bitterness in her mouth from the adrenaline as the fight
or flight response kicked in. When
he rose up into the air she began to look for the wires, like she was watching a
circus magician and trying to figure out the trick.
She began to calm down with that thought.
“It’s like a parlor trick,” she told herself- even though it was
obvious that this was no trick. She
looked over at Mulder and he had a smile of childlike joy on his face- as though
he was a kid who caught Santa in the act as he came down the chimney.
It was at that point that Nick let go- unleashing the power and sheer
presence that a vampire of his age had at his command.
Natalie was trying to keep her eyes off of her lover floating about the
room. She wanted to keep watch on
Dana to make sure she didn’t freak out. She
succeeded until she felt the power washing over her.
She had never felt that from Nick before.
Of course, she had never actually seen him doing ‘the whole package’
as he called it. It was awesome.
It was breathtaking. It felt
like each cell in her body was being individually filled with the awareness of
Nicolas de Brabant, Master Vampire. She
actually got one word out, “Wow!”
Mulder and Scully were rooted in place.
A nuclear explosion could not have moved them while under the onslaught
of that presence.
Nick smiled and reined it in, releasing them from the spell.
Natalie saw Scully’s fright begin to subside and started talking, “I
have thought of it as a virus- it acts like a virus, even though it isn’t
really that. The vampire factor, as
it were, acts like an RNA messenger and makes a small change to the genetic
coding. The factor itself is only
visible under an electron-tunneling microscope.
The effected blood cells are visibly unique under a normal microscope,
and their effect can be seen when brought into contact with unaffected blood
cells- they attack and consume them.”
“How long have you been researching it, Natalie?” Scully asked.
“Since I met Nick. He was a
patient of mine- first time I ever gained one on the table,” she said lightly.
Scully sNickered a little. In
response to Mulder’s inquisitive look she said, “Coroner humor.”
Nick returned to his seat and changed back to ‘normal’, as Mulder
asked, “Why? Why the research,
Natalie?”
Natalie glanced at Nick, clearly wanting him to field that question.
Nick thought for a moment on how best to put it.
“I have regrets Mulder. There
was a time when I reveled in the role of predator, and I have a lot to make up
for. For a time, I was convinced
that I would only be able to atone if I were able to regain my mortality.
I sought a cure for my condition.”
Natalie said, “I thought it was a purely physical condition, and that I
could come up with a way to reverse it.” Natalie
shook her head at her own state of denial, “It has physical manifestations,
but obviously, there is a metaphysical aspect as well that, as a scientist, I
had refused to consider.”
“What do you mean?” Scully
asked.
“Nick was convinced that he was infected with evil- that vampirism was
inherently equivalent to damnation. I
know that that isn’t true, but there are aspects that defy scientific
explanation- crosses, holy water, flying, that ‘thing’ he just did,
etc…”
“You don’t think vampires are evil, then?”
Mulder asked.
Natalie shook her head, “Nick is not evil, Agent Mulder.
He did terrible things in the distant past, but that person is not the
same person who is here with us today. I
have met many vampires and some are evil- truly horrifying.”
She thought of Vachon, Screed, and Urs and said, “I have met several
that are very nice people, living relatively normal lives.”
Then she thought of LaCroix and said, “Some, I’m not sure about.
Vampires run the gamut just as mortals do.”
“Detective Knight, I don’t mean to sound prejudiced, but…” Scully
began, not sure exactly how to put it delicately.
“You drink human blood, don’t you?”
Nick actually laughed out loud at that.
“First, please call me Nick. I
don’t think I can listen to ‘Detective Knight’ all night.
Second, yes I drink human blood. I
have recently returned to it, in fact. I
subsisted on cow for the last 90 years or so, and let me tell you, it wasn’t
pleasant.” Scully and Mulder’s
eyes widened at that. Nick
continued; “Think of it like this, you could live on bread and water, right?
However, it would not be a very healthy diet, and you certainly
wouldn’t be at your best, right?”
Scully remained silent- her mind whirling.
“Agent Scully…” Nick began again.
Scully’s response was automatic, “Dana’s fine…” she whispered.
Nick paused and started again “Dana, Mulder, what I drink is donated.
We are able to get blood that has been donated and has expired.
It is no longer useful for transfusions, and would otherwise be
destroyed.” He looked them both in
the eye for a moment before continuing. “I
have not killed for food in a century. Even
before that I only hunted criminals and killers- not that that is any excuse.”
He dropped his gaze and continued, “I won’t lie to you- most in The
Community do not share my reverence for human life.
However, even those of us who are so inclined rarely hunt these days.
It is far too dangerous in this day and age, and not just because of the
human authorities. Careless vampires
that cause attention to be turned toward The Community face action by the
enforcers. Bottled blood is the norm
these days.”
“Enforcers. They are what
you were warning me about last night.” Mulder
began, seeking more information.
Nick said, “The community has a code, Mulder.
Part of it requires that we live in secret, not allowing mortal society
to know of our existence. Those
mortals who do discover our secret must be dealt with in one of three ways.
The knowledge is removed from them, they join The Community permanently,
or they die. There are exceptions,
but they are rare.”
Scully turned to Natalie, “You have survived, Natalie.
You said you have known about Nick for six years.”
Natalie dropped her eyes and blushed heavily- clearly embarrassed.
Nick explained, “Yes, Natalie is an exception.
At first we just kept secret the fact that she knew.
By the time the enforcers became aware of her knowledge, she had already
proven valuable to The Community.”
Mulder thought he knew what that entailed, and was somewhat concerned,
“You covered up things…”
“I left justice in those specific cases to the proper ‘community’
authorities. Nothing would have been
served by exposing The Community except to cause more deaths.”
Natalie defended her actions, “It was not in anyone’s best interest
to initiate a witch-hunt.”
“Those cases were rare in any case.
Her value was more for her service as a doctor, believe it or not.”
Nick added.
Scully was intrigued, “What medical services do vampires need?
Mulder told me about the sword, and he said you healed automatically.”
Natalie chuckled at that. “I
could probably make a practice out of just Nick- ‘Natalie Lambert, Foreign
Object Removal Specialist; bullets and shrapnel are my specialty.’”
Nick laughed at that and Natalie confided, “Nick seems to get shot or
blown up inordinately often.”
Nick sobered, “Even with all that, it wouldn’t have been long before
the enforcers compelled a decision. In
another five or ten years I will have to move on; and Natalie would have faced
the three options. As she is a
resistor, it would have been narrowed down to two options.”
Mulder and Scully spoke simultaneously, “A resistor?” said Scully;
“Would have?” said Mulder.
Nick and Natalie both smiled. “Not
everyone is susceptible to a vampire’s mental persuasion,” Nick said,
answering Scully’s question.
Natalie
answered Mulder’s question, “I have made my choice already, Agent Mulder”
“Just Mulder, please.”
Natalie had a question of her own, “Why does everyone use your last
name? Dana even calls you that,”
Natalie was clearly bewildered, “and why do you call her Scully?”
Scully laughed out loud at that and said, “It’s complicated.
Besides, Mulder doesn’t like his first name.”
Nick laughed at that, “I guess it would be hard growing up with the name
Fox.”
Mulder changed the subject, “Nick, if you don’t mind my asking, how
long ago were you, ah I don’t know, turned, I guess…
When did you ‘join The Community’ as you put it?”
Nick laughed lightly at that, “Brought across.
That’s how we refer to it. I
was brought across in 1228. I was on
my way back to my family holdings in what is now
“That makes you, what 772 years old?”
Mulder mused.
“I have been a vampire for 772 years, I have been ‘around’ for over
800.”
“Nick is one of the eldest vampires in the
Scully was nearly in shock at the thought of this man sitting before her
having been around during the time of the crusades when Natalie’s comment sank
in, “One of? There are people
older than you?” she choked out.
Nick looked at her for a moment, “I am old, certainly, by community
standards, but hardly ancient. There
are in this world many vampires that are older than I am, Dana.
In
Mulder asked, “I take it then that the older the vampire, the more
powerful they are?”
“In many ways that is true. However,
age alone is not always the defining factor.
Bloodline and training can make a significant difference as well.”
Nick answered.
Nick suddenly looked back and forth between the two agents and leaned back
into his chair. He wasn’t sure why
he was in such a sharing mood. Natalie
knew most of this, but it had taken her 6 years to find out.
She had never really asked about some of it, and he had been reticent to
discuss it. “If there are no more
pressing questions about me, let us discuss this man Mulder and I encountered
last night.”
They settled down into discussion and speculation as to what manner of
men, or creatures, it was that they had stumbled onto.
========== X-FILES ==========