Future Mortality
Part 14/?
By Christine Hantzopulos
christine@forevernickandnat.com
Natalie
awoke to the sensation of movement within and without. The baby seemed to be
doing her morning calesthenics, and Nick was hovering over her watching in
amazement, his warm hand pressed gently against the visibly moving bulge in her
abdomen. Their eyes met, and he smiled at her tenderly. “I can actually see her
moving around,” he said in wonder. “My God, Nat, doesn’t it hurt?”
“No,
silly,” she told him, transfixed by the awe on his face. It threatened to bring
tears to her eyes, and she remembered Janette’s words, that he had never been
so happy. “She’s just restless. When I start moving around, she’ll fall asleep
again.”
Suddenly, a cloud fell over him, and he
swallowed hard, as if trying to contain his emotion.
“What is
it?” she asked.
“I was just
thinking…about Niki…about what I missed…about how I wasn’t there for you…”
“Nick,
don’t,” she said with soft reproach as she reached up to touch his cheek.
“Don’t dwell on this any more. Please. You’re here now. We’re together. That’s
all that matters.”
His hand
covered hers and he bent down to give her a kiss that lingered long enough to
allow him to collect himself. She knew it was for her sake. That damned guilt
would always plague him. “I promise, Nat, this time I’ll be with you every step
of the way.”
“I know,”
she said, bringing his face down to kiss him again. She ran her fingers through
his hair as his lips began to kiss their way down the hollow of her neck. He
wanted her again, she knew. But that was just fine. She wanted him too.
The phone
ringing broke the spell of the moment, for Natalie at least. Nick continued
nuzzling at her breasts as she reached for the phone.
“Hello?”
she asked, trying to hide her irritation at the disturbance.
“Natalie.
It’s me, Andy.”
She was
sure her body had shuddered, and Nick brought his face up to look at her
questioningly, mouthing, “Who?”
“Andy,” she
said, both addressing the caller and answering Nick. “I didn’t think there was
anything left to discuss.”
Nick’s face
hardened with silent rage as he held out his hand, motioning for Natalie to
give him the phone.
“Natalie,
wait. I don’t want to upset you. I just…would like to see my nephew. I was
hoping maybe we can work something out—not let this get out of hand.” Andy
sounded tired, as if he had not slept much since his last visit. She held up a
finger, indicating to Nick to wait.
There were
so many things she had prepared to say to him, but all that came to her mind
right now was a burning question. “Have you told your parents that you’ve found
us?”
“No, I
haven’t,” Andy answered without hesitation, a good sign if he were telling the
truth. She had known Andy for years, and something in his voice recalled the
friend she had trusted for over a decade.
“Okay,
then. You can come here today,” she told him, despite the way Nick was shaking
his head in disapproval.
“Thanks. Is
one okay?”
“Sure. See
you then.” She hung up the phone, well aware that Nick was not happy with her
snap decision.
“I don’t
want him in my house,
Nat. He upset you terribly last time,” he told her, sitting up in bed. “I wish
we could have discussed this before you told him it was all right. Besides,
have you forgotten that we have two very protective vampires sleeping
upstairs?”
Natalie
breathed deeply. She saw so much in Nick’s eyes that he himself probably wasn’t
even aware of, not the least of which was jealousy—of her dead husband, of his brother,
and the family that might try to take away the little boy that he considered
his son. “Nick, trust me on this. I think Andrew has had time to think this
over. I believe him that he hasn’t told his parents yet. That’s a good thing.
Maybe he’s willing to leave us be, as long as he sees for himself that Richie
is doing well, and that he’s happy.”
“I don’t
know, Nat,” he said, almost helplessly. “I just wish I still could—“ His voice trailed
off, and his face flushed with guilt.
“Make him
forget he ever saw us?” she guessed, and he nodded uncomfortably. He hadn’t
wanted to say it, lest she begin to worry that he
regretted his new mortality. She thought back to Janette’s words—that he would
need to regain the confidence in himself as a man that had been obscured by his
eight centuries of vampirism. “Look, in a worst case scenario, we could always
ask LaCroix to do that.” He began to protest and she quickly added, “But it
won’t come to that.
You and I
can handle this all by ourselves. As humans. It’s just part of life. As long as
we’re together, we’ll work it out.”
She smiled
as his mood seemed to lighten, as her faith in him injected him with
confidence.
“Okay.
We’ll give it a try,” he said. He pulled her into his arms, holding her
tightly, protectively. She stayed right there, knowing it was what they both
needed.
They’d told
the children the plan for the day, and Richie seemed quite cheerful and
oblivious to the tension his parents were so desperately trying to hide. He had
always liked Uncle Andy, and saw nothing unusual in the fact that he would be
visiting for the first time since they had left
Niki’s mood
was much more difficult to read. She’d asked at breakfast what they would be
doing for the day, and seemed distressed that they would be staying at home.
Natalie assumed it had to do with what Niki knew Andrew had threatened. She’d
been close with her uncle, who had been very much like Steven. Knowing that his
only concern was for Richie had hurt her feelings, to say the least. But there
was something else. Natalie knew her daughter too well. Something had happened,
something was on her mind, and it was taking longer than usual for her to
confide in either her or Nick. It was disconcerting to think that her little
girl was perhaps getting to that age when she might no longer consider her
mother a confidante, and a friend. After all they had been through together, Natalie had hoped to avoid that awkward stage.
“Now, don’t
forget, Richie,” she told him as he sat on her lap in the living room, “Uncle
Andy doesn’t know anything about vampires. So don’t say anything about LaCroix
or Janette, or that Daddy used to be one.”
He looked
up at her strangely. “How could he not know about vampires?”
“Well, you
know that not everybody knows they’re real,” she reminded him.
“That’s
just plain silly,” he proclaimed.
Natalie
smiled. “Yeah, I guess it is.” Ironic how Richie had come to think of vampires
as just a normal part of life. “But we
still have to keep it a secret. It’s really important.”
“Okay,” he
promised, leaning against her. He must have felt the baby move because he
asked, “When is the baby going to come out, Mommy?”
“Soon. In a
couple more weeks.” She hugged him tightly. “But you’ll still be my baby too,
don’t worry,” she told him kissing him on the cheek.
Richie
beamed, and she was glad. She didn’t want him to feel in the least bit jealous.
He’d been her youngest for five years, and she truthfully had never imagined
she’d have another child. He was also very bright, and had even noted that Nick
would be the baby’s “real” daddy too, just as he was Niki’s. Nick had gone out
of his way to assure Richie that he was his daddy too, and that there was no
difference. Natalie was sure Richie had believed it, because she knew that Nick
meant it with all of his heart. But what had that dream been about the other
night? She’d forgotten to tell Nick about it—actually, had avoided it, thinking
it might make him feel bad. But what feelings might seeing Steven’s brother
bring up for Richie now? Thanks to Janette, Richie’s memory of his father’s
murder was erased, and as far as the boy was concerned, he had died in his
sleep.
The bell
rang and Natalie felt the air in the room suddenly thicken with tension. Nick
went towards the door, but waited for her as she set Richie on the couch, then
joined him.
She took a
deep breath as she whispered, “Just stay calm,” to Nick, and he nodded that he
would be good.
Andrew
looked different than he had two days ago. He’d clearly had time to think
things through, and had come to some sort of resolve. There was no hostility in
his manner, in fact, he seemed conciliatory as he said, “We
got off to a bad start the other day. I’m sorry. It was just the shock, you
know?”
“I know,
Andy,” Nat said kindly.
Nick nodded.
“ Me too. I just didn’t like seeing Natalie upset,” he
said, in his own way acknowledging that he had also gotten carried away in the
heat of the moment. “Why don’t you come in and visit with the kids.”
“Thanks,”
Andy said to both of them, a weary smile coming to his lips.
His smile
became genuine as he entered the room and Richie ran over to him.
“Uncle
Andy!” he called, his face bright.
“Hey, look
at you!” Andy said, lifting him up and hugging him. “You’re a giant! You’ve
gotten so big!”
“I’m five,
now,” he told him proudly.
Natalie
smiled to see them together. It had been a long time. Yet as she glanced at
Nick she could see the jealousy on his face. He didn’t like this man holding
Richie in his arms. She took Nick’s hand and squeezed it as Richie babbled
about all the new toys he had in his playroom.
Niki came
down the stairs just then, dressed up in jeans and the silky pink top Janette
had bought her the night before. The short pink suede boots completed the
outfit, and Natalie had a feeling that she’d wanted to be impressive at this
meeting.
Andy did
open his eyes. “Wow, Niki, you look older than you did two days ago! If I
didn’t know you, I’d say you were sixteen,” he said as she grinned and came to
give him a kiss on the cheek. “You just
get more and more beautiful. Just like your Mom.”
Natalie
would have blushed if she hadn’t been distracted by Nick’s hand suddenly
pressing hers a bit too hard as he tried to control his anger. If only Niki
hadn’t told him that Andy had had a crush on her! Sure, it was an unspoken
secret they all had known, but it had never been reciprocated, and Nick had no
need to be jealous on that count. But she knew that just seeing Andy here with
his family, the family that Andy had known for so many years during his absence,
was making Nick feel extremely…territorial. If he’d still been a vampire, he
would have bared his fangs by now.
“Niki, why
don’t you and Richie show Uncle Andy to the dining room? Andy, I’ve made some
lunch for us.” She turned to Nick. “Nick, why don’t you come help me in the
kitchen,” she said, more than a request. He seemed to hesitate leaving the kids
alone with Andy but she shot him a look and took advantage of his possessive
grip by leading him into the kitchen with her.
“You can
let go now,” she said quietly, when they were alone. He looked at her
quizically, and she pulled up her hand that he was still holding onto for dear
life. “Come on, it hurts…”
“Oh,
sorry,” he said apologetically as he realized he’d made her hand all red. He
looked suddenly guilty as if he’d done something terribly wrong, just as when
he had been a vampire and forgotten his own strength. “I’m really sorry, Nat,”
he said, rubbing her hand and kissing it.
“It’s
okay,” she whispered, “just don’t be so upset.”
“I don’t like
him talking that way about you. Niki was right. He does have a thing for you,”
he said in a hushed voice.
“Nick,
don’t be ridiculous. He was my brother-in-law. It’s not like he’s Steven.” She
shuddered to think of what Nick would have done if he had ever seen them with
her late husband.
“I don’t
like him holding Richie that way. Or hugging Niki,” he nearly pouted.
She reached
up and kissed him. “You don’t need to mark your territory. We’re you’re family,
and we all love you.” She kissed him again, this time lingering until she knew
he was reassured. “He just wants to see the kids. That’s all. I really think
he’ll leave us alone after that.”
She wasn’t
one hundred percent sure, but she tried to sound so for his sake.
“He’d
better,” Nick nearly growled.
For Andy’s
sake, she hoped she was right.
Nick tried
to be on his best behavior to keep his promise to Nat, but it wasn’t easy. The
fact that this stranger had shared a whole lifetime with Natalie and the kids,
a lifetime he had been absent from, tore him apart inside. True, he wasn’t
Steven. But Nick could sense that Andrew Dillon would have gladly stepped into
his brother’s place had Nick not taken them away.
From time
to time, Nat would throw him a reassuring glance, or Niki would try to include
him in the conversation. But it was Nick who felt out of place at this little
family reunion. He began suddenly to focus on the questions that Andrew was
asking Richie, almost as if Dillon were trying to ascertain whether the boy was
happy. It incensed him, but he knew his son, and he would let him answer for
himself. Only that would convince this intruder to leave them in peace.
“So, do you
like it here, Richie? Or do you miss
“I like it
here,” Richie told him eagerly. “It snows! I never saw snow before. Daddy and I
even made a big snow man in the front yard at Christmas!”
Nick’s
heart warmed at the memory, as the reference to him as “Daddy” made him feel
more secure. Andy did not look pleased at that, though. Good. Let him know the boy loves me! he
thought in satisfaction.
But Richie
was as brilliant as his mother, and seemed to catch a change in Andy’s face, so
he explained, “I mean my new Daddy. My old Daddy died.”
“I know,”
Andy said slowly, satisfied at least that his brother had not been forgotten.
He tried to change the topic. “Don’t you miss the beach, and the pool? It’s not
very warm here.”
“Nah, I
swam a lot when we were at our island in
Nick saw Nat
throw him a worried glance at the reference to ‘our island’, but Andy seemed to
attribute it to the exageration of a five year old.
“Well, I
know Grandma and Grandpa would really like to see you. We’ve all missed you and
Niki a lot. You think you’d like to come visit
sometime?”
Nick found
himself holding his breath waiting for the child’s answer.
“I guess,”
he said unsurely. “But only if Mommy and Daddy come too.”
Nick
thought he could hear Nat’s breath exhale with his
own.
“Maybe when
you all have vacation,” Andy responded, then looked at
Nick. “Nick, Niki told me that you’re a professor here at Cornell.”
“Yes.
Archaeology,” Nick replied.
“So maybe
during the summer you could try to bring the kids out to visit,” he suggested.
Nick
nodded, though he and Nat would definitely have to think about the logistics of
that.
“Why don’t
you let me get us all some coffee, and we can talk about this a little more,”
Natalie suggested. She looked at Niki. “Just the adults.”
Niki caught
her meaning—perhaps it was something they had arranged before—and said, “Hey
Richie, wanna go to the park? The big people are gonna talk about boring
stuff.”
“Yeah!” he
said, jumping out of his chair.
Natalie got
Richie’s coat, hat and gloves—it was still nippy outside—while Niki grabbed her
cell phone and a purse that matched her shoes. The pink jacket with white fur
around the hood seemed new too.
“You
certainly got a lot of new stuff at the mall last night,” Nick commented to
her, making a note to ask later if Janette were responsible for her new attire.
“You like
it?” she asked her father, spinning around.
“You look
beautiful,” he told her, but made sure to add, “but I still think you’re too
young for all that make-up.”
She giggled
and gave him a much needed hug. Could she sense his feelings, was that why she
held on to him just an extra moment longer than usual? He must have seemed
needy, because Richie made a point of coming over to give him a big hug. God
had he needed that! “Bye, Daddy,” he said as Nick pulled his hood over his hat.
“Be good.
And keep your gloves on. And don’t run away from your sister, okay?”
The kids
bid good bye to Andy, though he promised to visit again before he left town.
Nat had set down the coffee in the living room, and they retired there, Nick
sitting at his wife’s side, Andy facing them both. Nick wasn’t sure exactly
what to say, so he was glad when Andy began.
“Thank you.
It was good to see them. I’ve missed them a lot. We all used to spend so much
time together…Losing my brother and his entire family…it’s just been hard.” He
looked at Nick. “I’m sorry for any accusations I made the other day. It was
just all such a shock—“
“It’s
understandable,” Nick said, nodding.
“You know,
when I first met Nat, there was such a sadness about
her. She never spoke about what had happened to Niki’s father, and my brother
never asked her. Neither did I. But I could tell that
whatever had happened between you—she still loved you very much.”
Nick looked
at him in surprise, wondering why he was saying this. He didn’t want to know
about Nat’s life without him. But the fact that her love for him had been this
evident, even to a stranger…
“I don’t
think she ever stopped loving you,” Andy finished, to both of their surprise.
“Andy…”
Natalie began, but she didn’t really seem to know where he was going with this
either.
“Nat, the
point is, you were a good wife to my brother. And I
know you loved him. But I think I always knew, I could always tell, in the back
of my mind, that whoever Niki’s father was had been your true love, and that if you were apart it wasn’t because you
wanted to be.”
Natalie was
silent, and Nick knew that she felt guilty that her real feelings had been so
transparent.
“What I’m
trying to say, is that I understand now how this happened so quickly. And I’m
glad that you and the kids are so happy. I won’t do anything to interfere with
that. I would just really like the chance to see the kids from time to time.”
“Of
course,” Natalie said, too choked up to say more.
“You’re
their uncle,” Nick told him, more at ease now that Andrew had accepted the
situation as it was. “They obviously love you. I’m sure we can work something
out.”
“Thanks,”
he said, then let out a deep breath. “The only problem now is what to tell my
parents. I’ve already notified the FBI that Richie is no longer missing. I had
to do that, or they would be knocking at your doors.”
“Thank
you,” Nick said, though it occurred to him that he had probably saved the lives
of a few FBI agents.
“They can’t
seriously want to fight for custody,” Natalie said, clearly still worried about
that.
“They
couldn’t,” Nick told her. “You’re his mother, and you’re the best mother any
child could ask for. No court would take him away from you.”
“I just
don’t want it to get to that,” she said.
“It won’t,”
Andy promised. “Now that we know Richie is safe, and healthy, and has a great
home, a mother…and a father…” he added, for Nick’s sake. “I’ll just have to
convince them that there’s no need to be concerned about him. They will want to
see him, though. And it’s only fair.”
“We can
arrange that,” Nick told him, though Natalie seemed hesitant to make any
promises. He looked at her. “Nat, really, we could take a trip to
“I just
won’t let my baby go anywhere without me,” she fretted, referring to Richie.
Nick could tell that that was what she feared most. Some kind of forced
visitations, where she would have to hand over Richie for a weekend or holiday.
She could never bear that, and frankly, neither could he.
“He won’t,
Nat. I promise. We’ll arrange whatever we have to, but we’ll travel and stay
together.” She seemed to breathe easier at that, and Andrew had no objection.
He stood to
leave. “Well, I’d better be going. I’m staying at the Statler on campus if you
want to get in touch with me. I’m leaving in a couple of days.”
“You’ll
come back and see the kids again before you leave, okay?” Natalie said rising.
“If that’s
all right. I’d like to.”
Nick stood
to shake his hand. “You’re welcome any time,” he said hospitably, meaning it
much to his own surprise.
When Andy
had left, Natalie fell against Nick and into his arms. “Oh, what a relief.”
“See, I
told you there was nothing to worry about,” he said as he hugged her.
“You told
me?” she asked in disbelief. “I thought you were going to jump across the table
and punch Andy at least half a dozen times during lunch!”
“I was
never that close,” he said, then intimated, “well, maybe once or twice. But
he’s actually a nice guy. Especially since he seems to have known that you’re
hopelessly in love with me ever since he first met you.”
He laughed,
knowing he deserved the slap on his arm. But it didn’t matter. Everything
looked brighter now.
“Who are
you calling?” Richie asked as they walked to the park.
“Shhhh,”
Niki told him as she put the cell phone up to her ear. “Hi. It’s Niki. I was
just going to the park with my little brother. On
“Why is your
face all red?”
She looked
at her brother impatiently. “It’s cold out. And I was just talking to a
friend.”
“Which
one?” he asked, not giving up.
“Someone
you don’t know. Don’t worry about it,” she told him. But she did wonder how she
would get Richie to keep his mouth shut about this.
She wasn’t
used to deception. It wasn’t in her. She couldn’t remember the last secret she
had kept from her mother.
Actually,
she could. It was a secret that had almost resulted in her death, and her
father’s.
She hadn’t
told her parents when the vampire had come to the island, claiming to be an old
friend of her mother’s, trying to convince her that it had been her father,
Nick, who had killed her step-father in California. She’d wanted to tell them.
The secret, and the horror it had engendered in her had nearly driven her
insane. But the vampire, whom she later had learned was named Spark, had taken
advantage of her trusting nature. He’d instilled fear and mistrust of her own
father, by telling her the legend of the dhampir, and leading her to believe
that Nick would do anything to become human again—even kill her for her blood.
She’d
cursed herself a thousand times over for believing him, and had sworn never to
keep something important from her parents again. Then why hadn’t she told him
about Dimitri?
Dimitri was
not a vampire. That was for certain. So he wasn’t any kind of threat to them.
If anything, revealing his existence could threaten him! He was right—Janette
and LaCroix would never hurt her or anyone in her family. But what would they
do if they came into contact with a dhampir?
Then again,
what if Dimitri’s father came looking for him?
She
couldn’t shake the guilt, even as she saw him waving at her from across the
park. Her whole body seemed to flush with excitement of a forbidden kind. This
was wrong, she knew. But he was so…
“Hi!” he
said, coming to stand in front of her.
“Hi,” she
replied, having forgotten how blue his eyes were. His shoulder-length hair,
blowing in the wind, seemed even blonder in the sunlight.
“Is this
your friend?” Richie asked looking up.
“Uh, yeah,
Dimitri, this is Richie, my little brother.”
“Hi,
Richie. Nice to meet you,” Dimitri said, bending down to say hello. Niki
noticed him studying Richie’s face, as he said, “Wow, he really looks like…”
“Like who?”
Niki asked, suspicious.
“Like you,”
he said, smiling at her.
“Well,
uh-duh. He is my brother,” she said.
“Hey, Niki,
can I go on the climby thing?” Richie asked, pointing to the jungle gym.
“Okay, but
not the big kids one. That one,” she said, indicating
the smaller setup where children his age were playing.
She watched
him as he ran off, and said, “Come on, I have to stay close by and watch him
while we talk.”
“Of
course,” Dimitri said, taking her hand.
Somehow, it
didn’t seem so cold outside anymore.
End part 14