This story/ scene takes place at the end of the second to the last episode of Forever Knight. I hated the last two episodes and think that that had to be the absolute worst ending to any series that I have ever had the misfortune to watch. So this is my version of what should have happened, my attempt at changing history. I hope you enjoy it. This is the very first story I have ever written. If you have any constructive suggestions on how I can make it better please let me know. aislinnf@juno.com



Disclaimers: The characters herein belong to James D. Parriot,
Tri-Star/Columbia Pictures TV, The USA Network, Aaron Spelling Productions or
Rysher Entertainment. No copyright infringement is intended.


A Secret Saved , is a Secret Learned.
By Aislinn Graves , copyright 1997




‘There is a distinctive smell to blood.’ Vashon thought, as he cracked open his eyes. He groaned with pain as he turned his head toward the smell. He heard a rustle at his side and struggled to see who it was in the darkness.
"Shh, Vashon , here drink this." A bottle was placed to his lips and Vashon drank greedily, almost snatching the bottle from his caretaker.
"Stop that !" a familiar voice said, as a hand swatted his away from the bottle.. "You mustn’t drink to much or to quickly yet. Just a little bit at a time until you regain some strength." A minute later the bottle was taken away .
Vashon hissed in frustration and hunger.
"Wait, let me light the lamp." The voice commanded him. "Then you can have some more." He heard the chair beside his bed creak and footsteps moving away. Vashon tried to sit up ,but was too weak to do much more than lift his head from the sacking that served him as a pillow. "I see I don’t have much choice in the matter" his voice cracked with hoarseness and fatigue and not a little pain.
"No, you don’t, so be a good boy and lie still."
"As if I had much choice." he mumbled. He heard a chuckle and a rustle from across the room. "Vashon, your being redundant." A match scratched and a flare of light came from behind a pile of junk that littered the old church where he made his home. Vashon winced at the sudden glare. "Is the light hurting your eyes now?" the voice asked.."
"A little but not so much I can’t handle it." he answered.
"Good, but as a precaution I am going to leave the lamp over here. The light was bothering you earlier so I had turned it off." Vashon closed his eyes and listened to the footsteps as they drew closer. There was a creak from the chair. He open his eyes and looked at his benefactor. "Tracy." He smiled up at the pretty blonde detective.
"Welcome back to the land of the living ." She smiled down into his huge brown eyes. "Or should I say, the land of the un -dead." He grinned at her attempt at a joke. She held the bottle out to him once more. Vashon noticed his hands were shaking as he reached for it. He took a drink ,ashamed that he had to hold it in both hands to avoid spilling it. He took a better look at Tracy and stopped drinking, shocked at her appearance.
"Tracy, you look awful." His eyes took in her unwashed hair and the lines of fatigue and fear on her face. "What is going on? Why are you here and what is wrong with me?" The questions tumbled out , as he struggled to remember the last few days.
Tracy chuckled wearily, "You don’t look so hot yourself, Vashon. As for your questions, don’t you remember anything?" She took the bottle from his hands and placed it on the ground with in his reach.
Vashon shook his head, "Not really." He looked confused for a moment, then his face twisted with fear and revulsion, "Madra de Dios ! Divia! Nick! Oh God , If she got to him!!" Vashon tried to struggle up, but a firm hand prevented him from moving.
" Vashon, lie still. You are not going anywhere for awhile!" Tracy’s voice, cracked like a whip across his mind. Vashon collapsed back into the bed and stared at Tracy . Here was a side of her he had never seen before, the tough cop side.
" Now , who is Divia, and what does she have to do with Nick?" Vashon stared at Tracy.
‘Oops, he thought , the cat is surely out of the bag, and with Tracy being a resistor there is no way I can whammy my way out of this one.’
Tracy stared back, her jaw set stubbornly. "Come on Vashon, I am not letting you worm your way out of this. Someone, this Divia I presume, beat the crap out of you . I will find out so you might as well save us all the trouble and just tell me now. What does she want with Nick and why! Vashon, he is my partner ! If he is in danger I have to know. Now, TELL ME!" Vashon cleared his throat ,looking decidedly uncomfortable.
"That won’t be necessary." A voice said from the shadows. Tracy leaped to her feet and spun in that direction, pulling her gun and aiming in one smooth motion. "Tracy, it’s me." A blonde man stepped forward into the light cast by the lamp.
" Nick." Tracy dropped her aim in relief. " Don’t startle me like that." she said, as she reholstered her gun. "What are you doing here?"
"I was looking for you." Nick shot a look at Vashon, who dropped his eyes.
Tracy caught the look and stared at Nick . "Ok, what is going on here?" She turned and looked at Vashon. He squirmed in discomfort ,unable to meet her gaze. She turned back to Nick. "Out with it partner. You might as well tell me because I am not going to let this slide." She sat back down in the chair and made herself comfortable, gazing at Nick with expectancy. Nick sighed and dropped to sit cross-legged on the floor in front of her.
" It’s a long story, Tracy"
" That’s ok, we have plenty of time" she smirked, sure now, that at last she would find out something very interesting about her mysterious partner. Nick frowned ,unsure of where to begin.
"Nick, just say it ,all right." Nick could tell by her tone that Tracy was getting exasperated. He took a deep breathe and said. "Tracy, I am a vampire, like Vashon ." He held his breath and look at her.
Tracy blinked, several emotions flashing across her expressive face before settling on anger.
‘Uh oh.’ He thought ‘here it comes.’
" Oh really , and when ,pray tell, where you going to share this little tidbit with me?" she asked icily. "I am your partner, damn it and I thought we were friends! Don’t you think I had the right to know this earlier. I mean, it isn’t as if I didn’t know about them.! Or believe in them. " Her voice had risen steadily through out her tirade until the last was shouted in his face. Nick flinched. She jumped to her feet and began pacing back and forth. "Of all the irresponsible, pig headed things you could have done, this one takes the cake, Knight! How dare you keep such a thing from me. And you! You knew about this didn’t you?" She whirled to face a grinning Vashon. He quickly wiped the grin off his face as she focused her anger on him. "You at least should have known you could trust me! You have known about this all along haven’t you?" She continued , not letting either of them get in a word or an excuse. " So how long have you two known each other ? I suppose you both have been getting a good laugh at my expense haven’t you? I want an explanation and I want it now!" She stopped and glared at them, panting heavily. Her heart was pounding with the force of her fury at two of the most important men in her life. "Why Nick, didn’t you think you could trust me?" She fell silent and hugged herself , hurt in her eyes.
"Tracy I’m sorry …. I never meant to hurt you. Of course we’re friends but after so many centuries it is hard to trust a mortal ,any mortal with this secret. And besides it was for your own good. The less you know about us the better for you. Tracy, you having this knowledge could get both of us killed." Nick dropped his gaze to his feet and ran his fingers through his hair. This was not going well at all. Of all the reactions he had considered ,anger was not one of them. But then again, this was his partner and she did have a temper. " I’m sorry….." his voice faltered. "I know that nothing I say is going to make up for not trusting you ."
"Your right, it’s not!" once again she glared at him as she interrupted . " Look we are not going to be able to resolve this in one conversation. We are going to have plenty of time to hash this out but from now on no more secrets, like this. And Nick, my NOT having this kind of knowledge could also get one of us killed. Ok? Do we have a deal?"
Nick nodded, relieved that she seemed to be winding down. "Deal, and your right, I was wrong not to tell you. "
" Ok, we will deal with this later then." Tracy sighed and rubbed her temples. " Does Natalie know?" she asked suddenly.
Nick heard the concern in her voice. He nodded. "Yes, she found out when I was shot in the head and didn’t die. She covered for me and has been helping me look for a cure."
Tracy sighed with relief and then stiffened. " So am I always the last one to find anything out around here?" she asked ,exasperated again.
Nick grinned at her. "No, of course not. It isn’t exactly common knowledge. No one is suppose to know at all, but you and Natalie are both resisters. So am I forgiven?" he inquired.
Tracy nodded and returned his grin a bit shakily. "For now you are but this conversation is only being postponed . It is far from over ,Knight." This was going to take some getting use to. Vampires were extremely secretive about their existence, with good reason. Vashon had also told her about the Enforcers. A group of vampires who policed their "community". From what he had said no one wanted to cross them. If you did ,you turned up dead or missing. Maybe Nick was just trying to protect her. But still…… She turned to Vashon. "Your turn." She glared at him, waiting for an explanation for his silence.
"Hey , Nick asked me not to say anything. It was his secret to tell. Not mine." He grinned disarmingly at her. "Besides, haven’t you never heard of the code of silence ?" he asked, in his best Godfather voice.
Tracy had to laugh. "Yes , but Marlon Brando you are not."
Vashon shrugged . "You can’t blame a guy for trying."
"No I can’t. But that still doesn’t excuse you for lying to me." Vashon looked at her, confused.
"Lying? When have I lied to you?"
"When you told me you had made him forget what he saw." He was still frowning in confusion. "After the Aztec died." She reminded him.
Vashon looked pained. "Ahh, well, yes but Tracy …." He trailed off . Tracy could see the pain in his eyes, so she relented. "It’s ok Vashon. I forgive you too. But don’t ever do it again."
"I won’t , I promise, Tracy. Truce?"
" Truce" she replied. "Good now that that is settled. What are we going to do about this Divia creature?"
Nick cleared his throat. "Nothing ." he said flatly . " She has been …. Dealt with."
Vashon looked at him, then understanding dawned. "Are you ok?" he asked.
Nick nodded. "I’m fine but I am concerned about LaCroix. He is taking it pretty hard. She may have been evil incarnate but she was his daughter. And it hurt him to have to destroy her. I am going to take a few days off to spend with him and help him deal with his feelings." Nick turned to Tracy. " That is why I was looking for you. To tell you I was taking some time off."
"Take all the time you need Nick. I am thinking of taking a few more days myself." She smiled shyly at Vashon. He smiled back at her ,glad that she wasn’t mad at him any more.
"In that case I will leave you two to make up." With that Nick disappeared, flying from the church. "God , that is going to take some getting use to." Tracy turned back to Vashon " Now, to get you back on your feet." she smiled .
Vashon relaxed back into his bed. It looked like everything was going to be fine now. "Whatever you say ma’am." He smiled at her as she reached for the bottle and began to nurse him back to health.


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