Where There's Smoke... by RareVintage

This story is part 1 of 2, "...There's Fire", the second half , will be sent at another time. As soon as I perfect my grammer problems. <g>

I give my permission to the Jadfe Archives to post my humble story.  Anyone one else must get my permission.

This story contains drunken mortals. (Nat/Schanke)  There is adult content in this story as well, it won't get too sexual. However,  you have been warned!  (You want them down and dirty..read the second half)

I do not claim to own or to have created these characters, that honor belongs to Sony/Tristar and James D. Parriott.

I do not belong to any Forever Knight Legion or Faction, I am just a humble fan who floats in cyberspace and  likes to write, and hopes you like to read.

Feedback is welcomed....rarevintage@hotmail.com

LONG LIVE THE KNIGHT!!!

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 "Son of a bitch!" Nat swore after she cut her hand while slicing a tomato. She brought her finger to her mouth, tasting her own blood. The flavor was not appealing to Nat,  although she could image Nick licking his lips at the sight.  She chuckled to herself as she fished through her drawers for a
bandaid. After she cleaned and wrapped her wound Nat proceeded to prepare her amazing dinner for Nick, Schanke, Myra, and herself.
 

       "Nick better eat this...or else." Nat said to herself out loud while tossing the salad. It had been too long since Nat actually prepared a meal. Not counting the endless nights with microwave dinners. But tonight, she was pulling out the big guns.  Soup, salad, and an amazing meal to die for . Nat hoped it would taste like chicken and not chalk. Nick wanted to get Mrya and Schanke a frame or a vase with a card for their anniversary, but Nat insisted on a cozy meal in her apartment as a more personal gift.
 

*RING*
 

 Nat ran to her hallway to pick up the phone."Lam...uh..I mean Hello?" Nat corrected herself. Work was never too far away, but she had to remind herself that she was home. "I do that too Nat, don't sweat it." Nat insantly recongized Nick's voice. "It's a bad habit I guess." Nat sighed into the phone. "So what's up.... you are still coming aren't you?" There was a pause, and then Nat heard Nick sigh into his phone. "Oh no, Nick you promised!"  Nat began to pace the hallway in frustration."I'm sorry Nat, something came up...tell Schanke...I...I am just sorry."
 

 
 Nick sounded far away, Nat could have sworn she heard music in the backround. "Where are you Nick? I can barley hear you." Nat shouted into the phone. There was another pause. "Um..well, I am following a lead." Nick said quickly. "What case?" Nat asked.  "Uh..the Harrison case, listen Nat I am really sorry. I have to go."  Nick  didn't even wait for a responce before he hung up. Nat just
stood in the hallway, pissed off beyond belief.
 

  "Following a lead...yeah right Knight!" Nat said to the  picture of Nick and her from her last birthday. She picked up the frame, with the sweet memory in it. "You big lair!You..you..
VAMPIRE!!" Nat shrilled at the picture, she put it back to it's place face down. Nat was sure he was at the Raven, again.   Nick was always pushing Nat away, now more than ever.  Nat was certain some old spark had flared up between Janette and Nick, she wasn't sure when or why.  Anger swept through Nat, all her work, all their work! What good did it do if he continued to go to the Raven. Nat hoped Nick wasn't drinking human blood again, but more than that she hoped he wasn't making love to Janette. Nat continued to stand in her hallway, tears rolled down her face. Where do I go from here? Nat thought to herself. Why am I always alone?
 

*DING DONG*

 Nat dryed her eyes while running to the door. She looked  through the peep hole, only to see a bald head. "Who is it?" Nat asked trying to sound calm. "It's the boogie man...Nat, c'mon let me in!"  It was Don Schanke, of course. Nat opened to door to see the chubby detective holding flowers and wearing a horrible tie. "Why hello there, Dr. Lambert...these are for you." He handed Nat the small bunch of carnations. Nat took them with a smile. "Thanks Schank, where's Myra?"  Nat asked sweetly. Schanke didn't answer,  he just walked in while looking  around her apartment.  "So this is your place, not bad...." Schanke picked up the face down picture. "Oh no, looks like someone is in the dog house."   He laughed while putting the frame back down. Nat found a vase for the humble bunch of flowers. "Well, it looks like it will be just us tonight.   Nick is following a lead for the Harrison case." Nat said flatly.
 

 "The Harrison case...we closed that case last night." Schanke strolled into Nat's living room. "Unless, he is following one of his famous hunches." Nat wasn't surprised, only hurt that Nick had resorted to lying.  Nat cleared her throat to push down the second wave of tears. "So, Schanke.. where is Myra...parking the car or something?" Schanke sighed, suddendly his face showed the anger and hurt Nat felt. "She..uh..I mean..Myra went to her mother's house up north. We had a ....well, I guess you can call it a fight."   Schanke finally answered, then Schanke's nose crinkled up,"Is something burning?"
 

 Nat's nose perked up to find the smell, followed by her eyes  bugging out of her skull. "Oh shit!" Nat yelped while running to the kitchen.  They entered the kitchen only to find it completly filled with smoke. "My chicken!" Nat cried. Schanke grabbed a pair of nearby potholders and threw them to her. "Hey Nat, head's up!"  She caught them easliy and slipped them on. An even bigger gust of smoke emerged when Nat opened the oven. "Man...oh man!"  Schanke choked while waving his arms about. " That was a Chicken?!"  Nat tossed the tray holding burnt, shriveled thing into the sink. Nat coughed and sighed, she was so dissappointed.  She had planned this meal for a week. " I'm so sorry Schank, this was supposed to be special." Schanke put his hand on her shoulder,  " No problemo, we'll order a pizza or something."  Nat sighed again,  patting his hand. "Okay..." Nat then walked back over to the oven, fanning it. "I guess I should clean this up." Nat said, rolling her sleave up. Schanke grabbed her by the wrist. "Do that later,  pizza now!" he demanded playfully. Nat giggled, "Okay, pizza!"
 

 Schanke and Nat walked into the hallway, covering their mouths from the last puffs of smoke. Nat picked up her phone, she had the delivery guy on speed dail. Schanke took notice of this, "You too?"
It took Nat a few seconds to register the question. "Yep...for the coroner on the go." she joked, but actually it depressed Nat.  It reminded her that she barely had time to live her life anymore.  Nat quickly shook the feeling off. "So, what do you want on  it?" she asked trying to keep her spirits up. "Pepperoni!" Schanke requested with his best Italian accent. "Then pepperoni it is!"   Nat agreed. While she ordered Schanke looked through Nat's wine rack. " Boy, you and Knight sure do love red wine."  he remarked, picking up a bottle.  Nat hung up the phone and walked over to him. "The guy will be here in 15 minutes, what were you saying?" She noticed the bottle in his hand.  "You...and Knight?" He repeated waving the bottle around.  Nat laughed, "Yeah, I guess we do." Nat was tempted to tell Schanke the bottle was filled with wine and not cow's blood.  "Can I open this up?" Schanke asked politely. "Why not?"  Nat shrugged and quickly darted into the kitchen. The truth was Nat could really use a drink. She looked for a corkscrew and two glasses.   When she went back to her living room she saw Schanke plopped  on her sofa. "Comfy?" she asked placing the glasses on the coffee table.  "Very." Scanke spread his arms out, yawning. Nat took the bottle and began to open it.  " Listen, Schanke."

  "Don" Schanke interupted.

  "Don" Nat smiled, "I can only have one or two glasses tonight.  I can't hold my wine very well." Schanke nodded "Understood, I'm the same way. Plus, Mrya would kill me if I drove drunk."  Nat  sat beside him and handed him a glass. "What should we toast to?" Nat asked.  "To  burnt chicken!" Schanke cheered. "To closed cases!" Nat joked bitterly.  "....and friends" Schanke added raising his glass to Nat. "...and friends"  Nat agreed lifting her own glass.
 

*CLINK*

     ...... 3 hours later...and 3 bottles after.....
 

 "Man oh man! That is horrible! Kids can be so mean!" Schanke slurred out while chugging down the last of his glass. His eyes were blood shot, and his nose was a light shade of pink. "Do you know what they use to call me in High School.....FLAT NAT !!!" Nat shrilled and then hiccuped. Her eyes were also bloodshot, but her cheeks were bright red. "Why did they call you that?"  Schanke asked, as he loosend his hidious tie. Nat giggled and stood up, " Because.... I didn't have THESE!!!" Then to Schanke surprise Nat grabbed her breasts and squezzed them. Nat heard Schanke explode in a fit of  laughter. "Wow!  You mean YOU were flat chested!? Schanke asked while standing up.   Nat nodded "Yepper...Flat as a board"  She answered while reaching for her glass, but was stopped by Schanke's next question. "So..you got'em done?"
 

 Nat's mouth dropped open. "Noooooo....I did not, these babies are all mine!" She was about to take another sip when Schanke surprised her yet again.   "Yeah sure Nat, You just grew those amazing knockers overnight!"  This made Nat's cheeks grow hot. Even though he was pretty trashed Schanke knew what he had just said was over the top. "I'm sorry" He quickly said. For some strange reason Nat wasn't satisfied with that. "You don't believe me?" she asked Schanke put his arms up in surrender, "You win, I'm sorry."
 

 "Oh no you don't Don, touch'em, you tell me if they are real or not!" Nat demanded. "NO!" Schanke screamed. "On come on, feel them. I dare you!" Nat insisted. There was a brief moment of silence, then a goofy grin spread across Schanke's chubby face. "Okay." he agreed.  Schanke then took a deep breath,  and cracked his knuckles in order to brace himself. He slowly brought his hands
to Nat's chest, cupping a breast in each hand. His hands were hot, and Nat could fell the sweat through the thin fabric. "SO?" she asked, waiting for his answer. "Well...they feel real...." Schanke said, trying to swallow the lump his throat. "Squeeze them." Nat said. Schanke's eyebrow perked up. "Really?"  Nat nodded. Schanke placed his thumbs over her nipples and pressed down gently. Nat wasn't sure if it was because a man hadn't touched her like that in so long, but she could feel a slight
dampness building in her underwear.  Schanke also felt funny, his boxers were unusually tight all off the sudden. "Don, do you really think they are amazing?" Nat asked in a whisper. Schanke nodded, "Yes, I do...I mean ..they are really...um...nice." and with that comment being made he brought his hands down. Nat took a deep breath, and shut out  the little voice in her head reminding her of Nick
 

 " I sure could use a  smoke." Schanke said wiping his forehead,  Nat nodded in agreement,
"Hold on, I'll be right back." With that Nat zoomed into her bedroom, she opened her vanity drawer and located her emergency ciggeretes.  Schanke followed Nat into her room, "Nice...very nice..." he crooned as he soaked in the bedroom's decor.  "Is nice the only word you know?"  Nat asked while tossing him the pack. "No, I know others....but their not so...nice.." Schanke joked, taking out a ciggerete. Nat laughed and took out a silver zippo, lighting his ciggerete. "I can't believe you are letting me smoke, Knight would have a fit!" Schanke said while exhaling a sweet  drag. "Well....Nick isn't here...is he?"  Nat retorted bitterly, taking the ciggerete from him and took a drag  herself. Schanke giggled stupidly, surprised with Nat's new "Bad Girl" attitude. Giggling made Schanke's head pound so he sat on the foot of  her bed. "Nope, wonder boy ain't here."
 

 Nat  she sat next to him,  handing him back the half gone ciggerete. Schanke rubbed his eyes, he felt as if he was  sinking into  Nat's comforter. "Wonder boy....more like Fang Man." Nat laughed.

"What?"

".....Nothing."

 The laughing made Nat head ache. She had drank way over her limit. Nick would chastise her for a week if he saw her like this.  She looked at Schanke, who was plastered as well.   Schanke
noticed the attention. "What?" Nat smiled, "Well, I was just thinking about what wonder boy would say if he saw us like this. Drunk AND Smoking."  "I'm not drunk!" Schanke insisted. "Oh please Don, look at us...we are fuckin' trashed!"  They both rolled into a hysterical fit of laughter. "Why my dear Dr. Lambert, what would Detective Knight say?" he joked. However, that stopped Nat cold. "Well...he can go to hell tonight." Nat said, allowing her anger to surface. Schanke picked up on her frustration. "Nataile, if you don't mind me askin', what did Knight do?" Nat pulled one last drag off the ciggerete before putting it out. "It's what he hasn't done Don." she gently exhaled, while fighting the urge to cry. Schanke was now totally dumbfounded. "What hasn't he done?" he asked.

 There was a pause, Nat looked into Schanke's face. Hot tears began to flow, Nat was begining to sob. "ME, Don. He hasn't....done...me!" Nat blurted out.  Schanke's eyes slowly widened.  "You....your intrested in Nick?" he stammered. Nat instantly regreted telling him one of her secrets. "Oh God! I shouldn't have said anything!" Nat cried, covering her face with her hands.  Schanke quickly put his arms around Nat, comforting her.  "No...it's ok. Nataile, I am your pal...and you can trust me."  Nat sighed, and allowed herself to relax against Schanke.  There was a faint trace of Old Spice in the air, and somehow the mixture of Old Spice and ciggeretes was soothing to Nat. "Thank you Don." she said softly.  Then she gave him a quick peck on the cheek.   Schanke gave Nat a smile, blushing slightly.

 Then suddenly, for both of them the room's temperture changed, It grew warmer, the air was
thicker. The was a long silence, for Nat the smell of colonge and ciggeretes changed. It grew muskier, even senual. It filled her sences, and made her head swim.  They stared into each other's eyes, saying nothing.  "Don." Nat said in a whisper. The silence now being broken, Schanke couldn't help but jump up. "Well... I guess I should be going..." but before he could finish what he was saying, Nat stood directly in front of him.  "Don, what happened between you and Myra?"  This was the first time she had asked, but she needed to know.

 
 Schanke lowered his head, "I really can't talk about it Nat."  Nat reached out to Schanke, placing her hands on his face. "Don, look at me." Schanke brought his head up slowly, Nat noticed tears building Schanke's bloodshot eyes. "We're pals Don, tell me please."   Schanke began to whimper to Nat's surprise. "She called me a loser Nat....A LOSER!!! She said that her mother was right, that I wasn't good enough. That she should have married someone with more money, better looking too." Schanke was on the verge of sobbing, when Nat pulled him in for a hug. "Shhh...it's ok Don. You are not a loser, you are a good man and a good cop."  Schanke began to calm down, and then began to chuckle.   "We are here to party, and here we are balling like a couple of babies."   Nat couldn't help but laugh, leave it to Schanke to point out the humor in this. "I guess we are both feeling a little neglected." Nat said, breaking  the hug.  He is a good man, Nat thought to herself. She tightly shut her eyes,  Why can't I find someone like this?
 

*KISS*

  Nat quickly opened her eyes to find Schanke's thin lips pressed  against hers. Without thinking she pushed him away, making him trip and  fall back onto her bed. "Oh...geez..I'm soooo sorry..I wasn't thinking."   Schanke spurted out. "No..Don..Schank...ah...it's alright...I'm not angry.." Nat said trying to recover from the shock. "You're not?" Schanke asked like a little boy who was caught cutting class. Nat smiled and sat beside him.  "No, I'm not....in fact I think I liked it." Something inside Nat
snapped, maybe it was the wine, but she needed Schanke. "Don...I don't want you yo go....not yet." Nat whispered bringing her hand up his thigh.

 "Man..oh..man.."

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END OF PART 1, be on the look out for PART 2. "There's Fire."