Softly Whispering I Love You
by Eileen Duffy


This story is based an characters created by J. Parriott and B. Cohen
for the TV series Forever Knight.


*Softly Whispering I Love You
*Echoes of your voice are calling still from my dreams
*Softening the chill of the breeze

Natalie woke with a start. The alarm clock was busily doing its duty,
completely unaware of the fact that she hadn't slept well at all. She
kept having the most annoying dreams! Either it was a nightmare
about some particularly gruesome case, or it was something vaguely
romantic in nature, and her subconcious didn't have enough grace to at
least finish what it started. She couldn't remember details, not even
who was involved, just a voice.

This one had been nasty, and she wished that she could call Nick to
calm her nerves; but he was on a temporary transfer to British
Columbia, and undercover to boot. They wouldn't give her the name of
the *city* he was in, let alone his phone number. He tried to check in
on a regular basis, but it wasn't too regular. She was having trouble
getting used to his absence.

-----------------------------------------------------

Nick sat in the living room of what passed for his apartment in BC. The
case wan't going well, the perps were suspicious and careful, and it
looked like this thing might go on forever.

He felt like kicking a wall, or maybe just going over to the hideout he
was trying to get into and smashing a few heads.

He tried to pin down the source of his restlessness, and realized that it
went back to something that Schanke had said more than a week ago,
that being their last contact. He had mentioned that Natalie was
spending all her off time in her apartment, by herself, with only Sydney
for company. It had been months since she had gone anywhere, and
her friends were concerned.

Nick had tried to call, really, but with everything so complicated......

He went to lie down for a few hours.

*Through my window
*I can see the moonglow
*Painting silver shadows on a rose-colored land
*A world that we walk hand in hand

He sat up, the vision of his dream still bright in his mind. The
landscape of the night, with a sheen cast over it, put there by the
presence of--

Natalie?

They were friends, true, best friends, but how could he be in love with a
mortal? Wait, maybe love was too strong a word. He loved spending
*time* with her, that was it.

Inspiration struck. He called the precinct, and discovered that Natalie
had booked off for the next few nights. The night sergeant said
something about a flu going 'round, and that might be it, but there was
also--

Nick thanked her and hung up.

It was surprisingly easy to beg off the stakeouts for a couple of days.
Who would have thought that his new bosses would buy his admittedly
rather lame story of illness without the insurance of a whammy?
No matter. He was going to Toronto for a little while, and maybe his
mood would pick up, and maybe so would hers. A bit of pampering
never hurt anyone.

He caught a flight back that same evening, and was safely ensconced
in the loft before the first rays of the sun had poked over the horizon. It
was too late to get together, but that would give him time to think up a
few fun things to do.

-------------------------------------------------

The phone rang just as Natalie got up to head for bed. She had spent
the entire evening clicking down the channels available through her
cable system, and had discovered that most of the available
programming was, as she had suspected all along, trash. That didn't
stop her from taking it in, however, and by the time sleep called, she
felt like a cast member from Night of the Living Dead.

"Nat?"

She felt her heart skip a beat--maybe two--at the sound of his voice,
but pushed back the thoughts dancing on the edge of her
conciousness.

"Listen, I've smuggled myself into town for a couple of days. No one
knows I'm here except you. Want to get together?"

"Sure, Nick, I think that I can fit you into my harried, hectic schedule.
Wait, no, Princess Caroline and I are having tea tomorrow--"

"Well, cancel then, because you and I are going to have some fun. Or
else. I'll pick you up at sunset. Sweet dreams!"

Natalie climbed into bed, turned off the light, and had her first good
day's sleep in two months.

-------------------------------------------------

She couldn't help herself. After fussing with her clothes, her hair, her
apartment (which had admittedly become less than neat), she found
herself standing by the window waiting for the sun to go down. Every
time a car turned the corner, she jumped, imagining that it was a teal
Caddy convertible.

She jumped again when the Caddy rounded the corner for real. She
watched Nick get out of the car, and admired the ease with which he
jogged up the front stairs. She began pacing, waiting for the doorbell to
ring.

She concentrated on breathing deeply until she heard the chime.

---------------------------------------------

Nick saw the door open, and Natalie's face appear. He was surprised
to feel a strange heaviness in his chest, like something had seized his
heart.

"My lady, let us depart. I grow weary of this world, shall we invent
another?" Nick offered his arm, Natalie took it, and they were off.

--------------------------------------------

Nick had taken her all over Toronto in the last two nights. Theatre, a
concert, dinners, and now they were sitting under the stars. Okay,
they were in the planetarium watching Laser Genesis, but they were
still stars. Nick had remembered seeing a couple of CDs in her
collection, and decided that a midnight show would be just the thing. It
was sold out, but a well placed whammy got them in to sit on the floor.
The nice attendant had even gotten them a couple of cushions.

Natalie leaned back and looked up at the spiraling points of light. If she
concentrated, she could almost imagine herself speeding through the
cosmos, faster than light, weightless.

"Take me with you?"

She heard Nick's voice and was startled out of her journey. He was
smiling at her, and for a moment she couldn't catch her breath.

"Lean forward a second." He put his arm behind her. "There. Now,
tell me where you were."

------------------------------------------------

He watched her face as she haltingly tried to explain the sensation of
flying through the stars. He almost smacked his head when he
realized that he could do something about it.

When the show ended, they filed out along with the other patrons; but
instead of heading towrd the Caddy parked in the lot, he pulled her
toward the hill behind the museum. She looked confused, but he told
her that they had to wait until the museum was empty and everyone
was gone.

Finally, they were alone. Nick looked at Natalie, and grinned.

"Do you trust me?"

-----------------------------------------------

Natalie was puzzled. What did he mean by that? Of course she
trusted him, with her life even. She nodded, and was bewildered when
Nick swept her up in his arms. Suddenly, she found herself airborne,
with Nick, heading out over the lights of the city. After she learned to
breathe again, she was delighted by the sights he pointed out to her,
and was thrilled to be living a secret fantasy. Who wouldn't like to be
able to fly?

-----------------------------------------------

Even vampires get a little tired occasionally, so Nick had to put down
on a grassy hillock in a park. As soon as Nick set her on the ground,
Natalie threw her arms around his neck and hugged him like she would
never let go.

"Oh, Nick, that was wonderful! Thank you!"

He chuckled, and looked down at her face. The moonlight washed
over her features, putting silver highlights in the waves of her hair, and
adding stars to her eyes. Mesmerized, he found himself leaning toward
her, brushing his lips over hers, softly at first, and then firmly as he
pulled her to him.

-----------------------------------------------

*In a day of gold
*Covered by the glow of new love

Natalie tossed and turned, unable to sleep for more than an hour at a
time. The dreams were back, only this time the substance was clear,
and she remembered everything.

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*I can feel your warm face ever close to my lips
*And the scent of you invades the cool evening air
*I can close my eyes and you're there
*You're in my arms still

Nick woke, and realized that Natalie wasn't really there. That didn't
matter, though, because he would be back in Toronto soon, celebrating
his first Valentine's Day. Strange custom, that, but he was bursting
with ideas.....

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*Oh I feel your soft kiss
*Turning into music every beat of my heart
*When I hold you close to my heart
*And I hear your voice
*Whispering I love you

Natalie sighed in her sleep. There was that voice again.......

(end)