Future Mortality Part 26

Future Mortality

Part 26/?

By Christine Hantzopulos

He’d burst through the door with as much power as when he’d been immortal, to find the most frightening sight possible. Dimitri was lying on the floor, Niki shaking violently with fear and crying hysterically, and Natalie lying on the couch, a blond figure bent over her. Without hesitation he raised the gun, aiming carefully at the attacker’s back…

The shots rang out as the vampire lifted his head from Natalie’s neck. In horror, Nick grabbed the stunned creature and threw him to the floor, bending over Natalie’s weakened form. She was looking up at him as if in a dream, and only then did he see the blood dripping down her neck.

“Oh my God, he’s bitten her! Nat, can you hear me! Natalie!”

“Nick?” she asked weakly, as if trying to focus on him. How much blood had he taken?!

He drew her into his arms, cradling her head against his chest, kissing her hair. “I’m here, my love, I’m here,” he said, hugging her to him. “It’s all right. It’s all right…”

“Daddy!” Niki ran to him and he pulled her into his embrace, as he held them both against him, deciding right then and there that he would never let either of them out of his sight again.

“Are you okay?” he asked tenderly, looking into her eyes. They were blue again, though he had seen the golden light in them just moments ago.

“Now that you’re here,” she wept. “But Mommy—“

In alarm, Nick realized that she had fallen asleep—or unconscious—against him. But her pulse was still strong, and the color of her cheeks told him that she had not had a dangerous amount of blood taken from her. He tried to contain his fury that this vampire had even tasted the sweetness of her blood. “She’ll be all right,” he promised his daughter, laying Natalie back down on the couch. “We just need to get her some help—“

“Daddy, watch out!”

Strong hands ripped him from them and threw him against the opposite wall. The blow to the back of his head made everything go white as excruciating pain momentarily paralyzed him. He could feel his own warm blood flowing down the back of his neck as he blinked to clear his vision, just in time to see Steven rushing towards him, his fangs bared.

The taste of her blood had been exquisite, reminding him of the excitement of the first time he had ever made love to her. But as he took in her life essence, all that she was seemed to come with it. Her memories relived in an instant, her life with him but a millisecond of happiness that had gotten her through her pain. And her love. Her undeniable, boundless, passionate love, for Nick. Even now, as she knew her end was near, her fear was for him, of leaving him alone, for her children, her unborn baby. Nick’s unborn baby. She hadn’t fallen back in love with him after Steven’s supposed death.

She’d never stopped loving him.

In shock, he withdrew from her, not wanting to see, to know, how much this man meant to her. How much he would always mean to her, even if Steven were to kill him right now…

“You’ll never be mine…” he choked out.

The searing pain of the gunshots stunned him, yet did more. They seemed to paralyse him. In the back of his mind he recalled Stavros’ warning of wooden bullets. Ah, that’s what this must be. His body was as numb as his heart as he felt himself being pulled from Natalie, and tossed onto the floor…

He lay there, listening, watching, immobile. DeBrabant was with her now, and Niki, his Niki, was rushing to them, calling Nick by the name that had been reserved for him. Dimitri was stirring, and by his side…Andy? His own brother had betrayed him. For the secret love he’d always had for Natalie? Or because Andy had seen the truth that only her blood had revealed to him?

In fury he struggled to pull himself up, even as his natural healing powers expelled one of the bullets that lay close to the surface of his skin. He would not let it end this way! Everything had been taken from him, to the point that even eternal life would seem empty without what he had had as a mortal. He would not let this man have them. Not Natalie. Not his children. Nicholas De Brabant would not have what he could not!

Nicolette’s warning to her ‘daddy’ was not in time. Steven grabbed him from behind, throwing him clear across the room, a satisfying thud sounding as his head hit the far wall. He bared his fangs, his eyes burning with hatred, as he summoned the last of his energy to rush at the man who had taken all that he loved from him. Nick was stirring, trying to lift himself up, as Niki screamed, begging for him to stop. Pleading with him to spare the life of this man who had replaced him in all of their hearts…

“Steven, stop!”

He turned to see his brother Andy aiming a gun at him, most probably filled with the same wooden bullets that had stunned him. “And why should I, Andrew?!” he growled. “So that he can take all that is supposed to be mine?!”

“Because Natalie loves him! And so do the kids! Why do this to them, Steven? You know you can never go back to the past! Just leave them in peace, and you’ll have an eternity to find happiness! This is their only life! Why destroy it?!”

“Because they are my life! And if I can’t have them, no one can!” He turned back to Nicholas, only to find that he had taken those few moments to rise to his feet, his own gun pointed directly at Steven’s heart.

Nick watched the vampire come towards him as if in slow motion, his head still spinning even though his vision had cleared. And then, he turned away, distracted by the words of his brother, pleading him to stop for the sake of Natalie and the children.

With greater effort than he had ever employed, Nick lifted himself up, reaching back into his waistband for the gun that had not quite done the trick.

“Because they are my life!” Steven growled at his brother, his patience seeming to wane. “And if I can’t have them, no one can!”

He turned back to Nick just as Nick took direct aim at his heart.

He fired.

Steven fell to the floor, this time too stunned to move. Perhaps before the bullets had fallen short of their mark, but this time, at close range, they had been buried deep within the recesses of his still heart.

“I’m sorry,” he said, with regret for what he had had to do. “But they’re my life. And I won’t let anyone take them away.”

Steven’s eyes closed in defeat.

Nick watched for any sign of movement, then called out to no one in particular, “Does this house have a back yard?!”

“Yes. Through the kitchen.” Dimitri came to stand before him, and Nick had to struggle against his natural instinct to rip him apart for whatever part he had played in this trap. At the moment he seemed to be on their side, and Nick would have to wait for his questions to be answered later.

“Then help me carry him outside. Quickly!”

“I’ll help,” Andy offered, though Nick could see the distress in his face at seeing his brother’s prone form.

“I don’t think you want to see this,” Nick warned him as delicately as possible.

“I’ve already seen too much today,” Andy replied dryly.

Nick grabbed Steven’s arms, nodding for Andy to take his feet. The pistol was safely tucked away, should Steven make a last ditch effort to escape his fate. But the bullets had immobilized him, and the men would have to act now to take advantage of this opportunity.

With his shoulder he pushed open the back door, glad that the yard had a Western exposure. Even as it prepared to set, the sun shone brightly upon them as they dragged Steven’s body into the light.

In moments, smoke seemed to rise from Steven’s body. For Andy’s sake, Nick was glad that his brother was not conscious for what would be a painful death. Flesh smouldered and turned black, leaving nothing but ashes in the remains of his clothes. “The ashes will have to be scattered,” Nick said emotionlessly. “But right now, I have to take care of Natalie.”

“I—I’ll do it,” Andy said, swallowing hard.

Nick patted him sympathetically on the arm. “It’s all right. There’s time. And the wind will do most of it. We’ll let Stavros take care of the rest.”

An agonizing pain shook her to consciousness. Natalie cried out as she opened her eyes, looking around wildly for Nick. He had been here, hadn’t he? Had it all been a dream?

“It’s okay, Mommy,” Niki soothed her, pushing back the hair from her brow.

“Nick?! Is he here?!”

“Daddy’s here,” she promised her. “He’ll be right back.”

“Steven?” she asked, fear in her eyes.

Niki breathed deeply. “He’s gone, Mom. He tried to kill Daddy…and Daddy had to kill him, to protect himself and us.”

Natalie sighed deeply in relief. That Nick was safe. That Niki was safe. And that Niki seemed to have come to terms with something that could not help but be traumatic for all of them. How brave she was being! At least, for now. Natalie knew that Niki’s conflicting feelings would emerge along with her own. But for the moment, they could rest easy….

“Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!” she cried out as the contraction suddenly hit with full force.

“Nat!” Nick was at her side, taking her hand and squeezing it. “It’s all right…We’ll get you to a hospital right now!”

“No—time!” she gasped. The urge to bear down had begun, and she would have to begin pushing…

Nick’s face was in a panic. “But we need a doctor!”

“I just spoke to my father,” Dimitri told him. “He’s sending a doctor immediately!”

“Do you think I trust anything you say?!” Nick spat at him.

“Forget that now!” Natalie cried as the contraction momentarily subsided. “Nick, get me somewhere private—a bedroom, something!”

Dimitri pointed him in the direction of one of the house’s many bedrooms, and Nick lifted her gently to carry her in, setting her down on a full-size bed. Good. She didn’t need either of the kids seeing her like this.

“What now?” he asked, clearly terrified. He had pulled off her underwear and her shoes, and sat at the edge of the bed looking whiter than he had as a vampire.

“Wait…until the next—here it comes!” It was as if the baby knew that she was ready. That the danger was gone, that Daddy was here, that Mommy was comfortable, that Daddy was here….

“AAHHhhhhhhhhhhhhh!” She could feel the baby’s head begin to emerge, and she pushed as she had never pushed before, not with Niki, not with Richie, knowing that if something went wrong there would be no doctor here to help her. She was crying from the pain, could feel herself tearing as her daughter struggled to be born, drawing every last bit of strength from her body. But throughout her ordeal, his voice was there, encouraging her to go on, his strong hand grasping hers, his lips kissing her forehead as he told her how much he loved her, that she could do it, that he was here…

He was here…

“Come on, Nat, I can see her shoulders. You can do it, sweetheart. Push. Come on. Push. It’s almost over. I love you. You can do it…”

Relief. A cry. Her tears becoming tears of joy. Nick holding in wonder the tiny infant whose conception itself had been a miracle. “She’s beautiful, Nat,” he whispered, his voice cracking with feeling. He gently lay their daughter in her arms. “As beautiful as you.”

He bent to kiss her, his lips trembling with his emotion. “I love you,” he said again, as he circled them both in his arms. “And I told you I’d be here. I told you I’d be here…”

The doctor sent by Stavros arrived just moments after the baby had made her entrance. Nick was relieved. Though he had managed to deliver the baby, something he’d never done in eight hundred years and hopefully would never have to do alone again, Natalie was weak, and there were things that had to be tended to. Doctor Pappas was human, though clearly connected with the vampire community. After cutting the umbilical cord and sewing Natalie’s torn tissue, she examined the baby and cleaned her up, making her seem even more beautiful to her proud father. She’d examined Natalie’s life signs, and found that she did not need a transfusion. Bedrest would suffice until she could rebuild the blood she had lost.

“Stavros thought it would be best to avoid a hospital, if possible, due to her puncture wounds,” she explained to Nick later. “But of course, if I thought it was necessary, I would say to take her in. I’m an obstetrician. Aside from visiting her own doctor some time next week, I would say she’s doing amazingly well considering what happened.”

“Thank you, Doctor,” Nick told her, his gratitude heartfelt.

“You’re welcome. But she was very lucky. And you did a fine job.”

“I promised her I would be there,” he said wistfully, though the doctor could not imagine all that that entailed.

Doctor Pappas pulled out some papers. “We can fill these out and I will submit them for you. Do you have a name for your daughter?”

He smiled. He and Natalie had decided this already. “Fleur. Fleur Janette De Brabant,” he said.

End part 26