Future Mortality (Part 5/?)

By Christine Hantzopulos

[Thanks for all the feedback, guys! And the usual disclaimers apply. All references to popular culture are respectfully made without any intent to infringe upon the authors or owners of such properties.]

He would never get enough of bacon, eggs and cheese.

Natalie had kidded him about the tiny pot belly that had begun to form above his waist, and warned him that his cholesterol might go dangerously high if he didn’t watch his diet. But food was just so good! He’d forgotten, in all those centuries, and in all those years she’d tried to force him to choke down something just to break free of the blood. For the first time in hundreds of years, he looked forward to each meal, delighted in the tastes and aromas of almost anything she put before him. But waking up to bacon, he’d teased her, was almost as good as waking up to her.

Almost.

He grinned as she filled his plate, forcing himself out of politeness to wait until everyone was at the table. But as his eyes fell on Niki, concern for more than his stomach made him forget about the food. She’d entered without saying a word, and sat silently across from him, her face down. Only Richie was chattering away as Natalie poured him juice, and then took her place at Nick’s side.

“Good morning,” he said awkwardly, trying to break the ice.

His daughter looked up at him, and he was relieved to see her face devoid of the anger of last night. In fact, if anything, she looked as awkward as he felt.

“Good morning,” she said quietly, then looked back down at her food.

“Hey, you didn’t stay up all night reading the fourth book, did you?” Natalie asked knowingly.

“Uh-huh,” she said sheepishly, yawning.

“Now, that wasn’t the smartest idea,” Nick told her, trying to sound admonishing.

“It was just so good—and I couldn’t sleep anyway—“ Niki began.

“Well then you’d better take a nap after school if we’re going to go to the movies tonight,” he said with a twinkle in his eyes.

Niki looked at him in shock. “You—you’re still going to take me—even though I was so mean to you last night?” She looked like she was going to cry from a guilt that he knew she’d inherited from him.

“I still don’t want you going alone with the kids tomorrow night,” he said seriously, “but Mommy and I agreed that I could take you tonight—if you want me to.”

In seconds she had run over to him and was hugging him tightly. “Of course I want you to! Daddy, I’m so sorry! I said terrible things last night! I can’t believe you’re still willing to take me!”

“It’s okay,” he said softly, kissing her wet cheeks. “I love you.”

“I love you too!” she said, hugging him again. Then she turned to Natalie. “Mommy, why don’t you come too! It would be so much fun!”

“I want to finish reading the second book before I see the movie,” she said with a smile, then added, “Anyway, you go and have a night out with your Dad. Richie and I will stay home and watch something a little less scary.”

“Okay,” she said, giving her mother a hug.

“Now let’s finish breakfast so I can get you guys to school,” Nick said, digging into his own plate. His own appetite was back with a vengeance. His family was happy, and that was all that mattered.

He gazed out across the dark sea, his being engulfed by the blackness around him. He didn’t know how much longer he could take this. Barely two days had passed since Stavros had put him off, yet again, with talk of training and control and time. In his being he knew that time was running out. Not for him. But for them. For her. She didn’t have eternity. Not yet.

A stir of discomfort told him that the boy was watching him, and he turned to see Dimitri gazing at him with a slight smile on his lips. “What is it?” he growled, not really caring to put on an act, even for Stavros’ sake.

“I think I’ve come up with a way to help you get what you want,” the young dhampir said mysteriously.

“And why would you want to do that?” he asked suspiciously.

“Because it’s about time we were both free,” he replied, stepping closer. “And because I finally know where we can both find what we’re looking for.”

“Now, let me get this straight—they can go out in sunlight, but they shine like diamonds?” He couldn’t help his skepticism. He was very selective about his vampire movies, for obvious reasons. “And they bite—but don’t have actual fangs? What kind of vampires are they?”

Niki shook her head and laughed as he pulled into a parking spot. “It’s fiction, Dad. I’m sure Stephenie Meyer never met a real vampire.”

“If she did, she might be in for a surprise or two,” he commented.

“Come on. Have an open mind.”

He turned off the engine and looked at her. “Okay. But first, before we go in, I want you to open this.” He took the small box from his jacket pocket, putting it into her hands. “It’s not new—it’s something I gave you before, but you weren’t ready for it. I promised I would hold on to it for you.”

Nicolette gasped and her mouth opened wide even before she opened the tiny gift box to reveal the antique ring inside. She held it up by the gold chain, her eyes growing red. “The Brabant family ring—I gave it back to you when—“ Her voice broke off. It seemed like an eternity ago that she had returned to him the ring he had left as a gift to his unborn child. In a fit of rage and guilt she had told him that he wasn’t her father—that her father was dead. Even the memory of how much she had hurt him brought tears to her eyes.

“Don’t cry, sweetheart. Just tell me that you’ll wear it now,” he said softly.

She nodded, letting him place the chain over her head, then throwing her arms around his neck. “I’ll never take it off, Daddy! Never!”

Nick held her tightly, caressing her hair, wishing that he could capture this moment, this feeling, and commit it to memory. He had told her not to cry, but having his daughter in his arms like this, after all the years they had lost, made it hard to control his own tears of joy. For a few more seconds he savored the contact, then reluctantly released her. “Come on. Let’s go see these Hollywood vampires you’re so obsessed with.”

Natalie was glad to spend a night alone with her little boy. He was so used to being her baby, and she didn’t want him to feel any less loved when the new infant came. Luckily, he was too young to really comprehend the fact that this baby shared a father with Niki. Nick had made sure Richie would never feel any less loved than his natural children, and though the boy had sometimes talked about his ‘other daddy’ who had died, he absolutely idolized Nick. Things had been pretty near perfect in the last six months.

That was what worried Natalie the most. Perhaps she wasn’t used to so much happiness, but in her experience, perfect never lasted. Especially as they awaited the arrival of their second daughter, she couldn’t help but wonder if the child would be totally human, or a dhampir like Niki. They had lucked out with Stavros, in convincing him that Steven was Niki’s father. But if word got out about the new baby…

Nick had told her not to worry, but at times like now, when Nick was out at night with their daughter for the first time since they’d moved here, it was impossible not to feel as if she were waiting for the proverbial other shoe to drop.

Richie had fallen asleep after they’d watched a movie on Disney Channel together, something about wizards. It was unbelievable how prevalent supernatural beings were on television, and yet no one had a clue that they were real. Even as she sat reading the second Twilight book, New Moon, she thought to ask Nick if werewolves were real, and if so, were they as erroneously described as the vampires? A part of her envied Bella as she was reading the series. At least her vampire could come out in the daylight. But like Nick, Edward stubbornly refused to bring her across. Were all vampires so miserable with their existences that they really thought they would condemn their loved ones to Hell? Or had Stephenie Meyer once met Nick? She giggled at the thought. No, Anne Rice’s Louis probably was the inspiration. He had given up human blood, hadn’t he? “I wonder if Anne Rice ever met Nick,” she murmured to herself as she turned the page.

The doorbell rang and made her jump. It was too early for Nick, and besides, he never forgot his keys. Cautiously she got up, thinking only as she reached the door that she should have grabbed the gun with wooden bullets that Nick kept on top of the bookcase. She peeked through the door, her jaw dropping.

Without even thinking she opened the door, staring in complete astonishment at the blond man who stood before her.

“Hello, Natalie,” he said.

The other shoe had indeed dropped.

End part 5