******************************************

      The door shut behind the obnoxious crowd, and LaCroix ground
his teeth in frustration.  There was no chance of salvaging this
situation.  Even as he thought it, Natalie's clenched fist caught him
square in the sternum.  He cringed, the segmented breastplate was not
a forgiving surface, not even for their kind.

      "Get off me!  Get the hell of me! Now!"  She continued
pummeling him, and pushing him away at the same time.  Her panicked
struggles made it impossible for him to get away, his toga was firmly
stuck beneath her shapely posterior.

      "That is Enough!"  He caught her fists in his iron grip,  but
if anything, her struggles increased tenfold.

      "No! I won't let you do this!  Stop!" Screaming, she bared
her fangs, eyes wide in fear.

      "Doctor, if you would calm yourself, I am not doing anything
to you.  Desist!" He didn't even begin to understand the cause of her
panic, but her screaming for help did not bode well for his
reputation or honor.  No doubt the idiots responsible for this mess
were still within hearing distance, if not right outside.  "Natalie!
Stop, you will injure yourself."

      She finally arched her back enough to free the soft wool, and
he rolled to the side, away from the hellcat.  As soon as he was out
of range,  Natalie scrambled for the head of the bed to put even more
distance between them.

      "Don't touch me."

      He stiffened at the challenge, but stopped when he saw the
tears about to fall from her eyes.  She wasn't challenging him, she
was terrified.  After two centuries of experience, it didn't take him
long to figure out what had triggered it.  Sighing, he went over to
the bookshelf and pulled a well worn book from it's resting place.

      "I won't.  I promise you, rape is something you shall never
again experience, not from a mortal, and certainly not from me.  You
are safe."  He didn't look up when he said it,  studying the ancient
text in his hands.

      Nothing came from her corner of the bed for long tense
minutes.   He risked a peek, and saw her shoulders shaking in silent
sobs, and her face firmly planted in a pillow.  He'd forgotten how
emotional new fledglings were.  He raised a brow, and watched her,
debating the merits of approaching her, or staying out of range.
Even while still mortal, the doctor had never seemed the type to
enjoy an audience to her moments of weakness.  However,  she wouldn't
be crying if it wasn't for him.

      "Natalie?" Resigned, he approached the bed, determined to
calm her.  When he sat beside her, and pulled her into his arms, she
didn't protest.  "Shh."  Gently, he pried the damp pillow from her
face.  When she looked up at him, he hid the rage at the unknown
mortal who'd managed to break through her wall of strength.  "You
have my word,  the man responsible for this will understand the
meaning of torture before he meets his maker."

      "Why LaCroix?  You've tormented me for years, made my life a
living hell, and now you expect me to believe this softer kinder
side?  What happened last night?"

      He chose his words carefully.  "I was shot, and went to you
for help.  Instead, I found you almost dead from a fever, begging to
be put out of your misery or brought across."  He opened the link,
pushing his memories into her.  "I did nothing that you did not ask
for."

      Feeling her searching through his mind, he closed off some of
the other motivations for bringing her to his side.  There were some
things she wasn't ready for just yet.  "This is a gift, Natalie,
together we will see man journey to other galaxies, and conquer
heaven itself.   DaVinci made a toy helicopter, but even he never
dreamed of landing on Mars, or traveling faster than the speed of
sound.  I have never regretted choosing eternity,  had I not,  I
would be a plaster casting on the streets of Pompeii."

      "I owe you an apology."

      "No."  He brushed her auburn locks out of the way and kissed
her forehead.  "There is no need."  He saw her stiffen slightly at
the unexpected touch, but she didn't return to her earlier panic.
Good, perhaps some things might be salvaged after all.

      "As an Oxford poet once wrote,  `Care charmer sleep, son of
sable night, Brother of death, in silent darkness born, relieve my
languish, and restore the light, with dark forgetting of my care's
return.'  No, Natalie, for you this was but a dream, a wish.  I could
never hold you responsible for a fever's hallucinations."

      "Be careful what you wish for, eh?  You should have realized
I wasn't with it, when I told you to put on a dress."  She snorted in
his arms.

      He shifted, "Thankfully, some dreams won't ever come true.
That is one of them.  It's bad enough I have to wear trousers like a
barbarian celt.  Perhaps in time, civilized clothing will return."

      "And you think wearing a bed sheet is civilized?"

      "This bed sheet as you call it, is a lactus clavus, over two
hundred years old, and a gift from a treasured friend.  The roman
civilization lasted over a thousand years.  If anything holds the
mark of civilization, it is this."

      He looked down in perplexion as she started shaking.  He
didn't make her cry again, did he?  "Are you well, Doctor?"

      She turned her tear stained face back up at him, her lips
lifted into a brilliant smile. She'd been laughing.  "I'm fine,
LaCroix.  Don't worry, you don't have to worry about me being the
bedlamite."

      "It is good to see you back to your charming self, Dr.
Lambert." He realized in surprise that he meant it.  The brave woman
before him had never before shown weakness, and he respected her for
it.

      "Seriously though, why did you do it?  We have never been
great friends, and this can't help your relationship with Nick."
Natalie asked.

      "You are a beautiful woman.  In all honesty, you remind me of
someone long gone.  Unlike her, you are a survivor.   Nicholas
convinced me to abandon her, leaving her to die birthing another
man's child.  I am tired of fighting my son.  He has constantly
fallen in and out of love with mortals, playing with their emotions
until he either leaves them broken hearted or kills them.  You
deserved more than that, and I don't make the same mistake twice.
Eternity is a long time to be alone, Natalie."

      "Fleur."

      He closed his eyes, remembering that long ago night. "Yes."

      "I'll never take her place, Lucien."

      "Of course not, I've had eight hundred years to recover, this
is not, as you say, a rebound.  We may never be more than companions,
but it is better than watching another die and do nothing."  He
rolled his shoulder, pushing against the uncomfortable leather strap
holding his segmented breastplate in place.  "With your permission, I
need to change."

      He retreated to the bathroom, and removed the pins holding
his toga in place.  The straps holding on his armor were another
matter.  He attempted to reach the back one, but the reticulated
bands of metal protecting his shoulder prevented him from reaching
that far.

      "Need help?"  Natalie stood at the door, admiring the view.

      He sighed and straightened to his full height.   "The ties in
back,  if you don't mind."

      She ran her hands over the thick brown leather and silver
plating that covered his back and fell just above his
knees.  "Amazing.  Is this real?"

      "It was worn while I commanded the Cyrnaica legion in
Alexandria for the coronation of Vespasian as the Emperor. Yes, my
dear, it is quite `real'."

      "Tell me about it sometime."  She finished untying him, but
lingered, examining at the rest of the armor.

      LaCroix chuckled. "Long ago, Nicholas asked the same and I
would tell him of it until he surrendered to sleep."

      "You miss him."

      LaCroix closed his eyes, remembering the joy he once found in
Nicholas's company.  "He is my son, of course I miss him.  We have
not always hated each other."  The mood spoiled, he pulled the
ancient leather over his head, leaving only the white undertunic.

      "Whoa, hold up.  You're not innocent in this.  Since I've
known Nick, you've killed Alyce Hunter,  threatened to kill me, many
times, and stolen every attempt he's had at returning to mortality.
That is not what friends do, LaCroix.  Give me a break from the self
pity, you brought it on yourself."

      "I did not kill the enchanting Miss Hunter.  As for
Nicholas's search for death,  I will never allow him to find it.
Yes, I have almost killed you.  You were a threat to the community,
and a threat to my son's well being.  How many poisons have you
forced down his unsuspecting throat?  He was so weakened from one of
your concoctions, I nearly had to kill him to remove a demon!  You
know nothing of raising children, so don't tell me how to raise
mine."  He towered over her,  fists clenched in rage.

      She stiffened, but if anything the fire in her eyes
increased.  "If you want to kill me for expressing my opinion, go for
it.  There is no way I'll ever submit that far.  I am not a slave,
LaCroix."

      So, that is what it came down to, pride.  He understood that,
and respected it,  now, to test her resiliance.  Schooling his
features into a cold mask, he grabbed her neck in lightning
speed.  "You are anything I want you to be, daughter."

      He froze, feeling a steel vice wrap suddenly around his most
precious body part.

      "Wrong, and my title is Doctor.  You apologize, and I'll let
go.  You squeeze, I squeeze."

      He swallowed, and contemplated his options.  So far, she was
just holding him, making sure he didn't kill her.  The threat was a
damned good one, and he knew she was more than capable of carrying it
out.  "This is not how I envisioned spending my first evening with
you."

      "Then don't threaten me."

      He almost laughed at her nerve, keyword being almost.  No one
in their right mind laughed while a furious woman gripped him
there.  "Indeed.  Very well, Doctor, I apologize.  Now, release me."

      "You first."

      Beautiful, resourceful, and wise, a grand combination,  he
released her neck, and held his arms to the side, palms open.  "You
are free, mon coer."

      He saw her weighing her own options, debating whether or not
to trust him.  "Give me your word that you won't retaliate for this."

      "Of course."  Yes, she will make a magnificent mate and
companion, he thought.  Provided she decided to keep her word.

      She did, releasing him with a carress.  His eyes popped wide
open, and he stared at her in confusion.  "Natalie?"

      "The link works both ways, LaCroix.  If you ever want me as
a `mate', you'll have to do a lot better than this."

      He slammed the link closed in shock.  How?  He hadn't felt a
thing.  Just how strong was his new fledgling?

      "Strong enough."
 
 
 
 

End chapter 5