Disclaimers: Ok you know the deal already. I don't own any of the characters. They all belong to James Parriott and all the other PTB. I also do not own any of Bon Jovi's songs. They belong to him and music companies.
Always
Nick wished he didn't have to go, but it was time he moved on. He had told Natalie last night, not liking her reaction. She had cried and begged him not to go.
Staying wasn't an option though. Not when he had been in Toronto for as long as he has. People were beginning to notice that he wasn't ageing and that could be dangerous.
Tracy had figured out what he was after being his partner for one short year. He wasn't looking forward to telling his partner that he had to go, as they had gotten to be close. Especially since he took that bullet to the head for her. At that stage, she didn't know though.
The bullet in his skull, the VR game and the possession had been too much for him and he had ran back to his master, LaCroix. He switched completely over to human blood, not being able to stomach the cow's blood any longer. Natalie was disappointed when Nick told her this. She had stopped looking for a cure. They still remained very close, however.
He got to work late. Tracy was at her desk, staring at him as he walked towards her. Nick took her outside to tell her he was moving on. She started to cry. Nick hugged her. He walked back into the precinct and gave Captain Reese his badge and gun. He had handed in the paperwork to quit the force earlier on that week. Joe knew it was time for his best detective to go. He would hate to see Nick leave though.
He gave the keys to the cadillac to Tracy as a going away present. She promised to take good care of it for him. He hugged her and kissed her on the cheek before saying goodbye for the last time. He flew himself to the morgue.
Natalie was waiting for him, sobbing loudly. He held her close and gave her a long, passionate goodbye kiss.
"I'll mis you, Nat" he had said, still holding her, barely whispering the words into her ear. She held him tight.
"I love you!"she whispered back, through tears that were streaming down her face.
"I love you, too"he said so softly, she barely heard the words. Scarlet tears were forming in Nick's eyes. He couldn't stop a lone tear, making a track down his face. He wiped it off, doing the same on Nat's face, before saying his final godbye.
Hoping that she would find happiness without him, he turned his back and walked out of the morgue, never turning back once.
He stayed outside the morgue for a while. Natalie had turned on the radio to break the heavy silence that would never leave now that Nick had left. It beat listening to her own sobbing.
Nick and Nat, both listened carefully to the last words of the song that was playing. It had been a happy, cheerful song. Both hoped the next song would be just as cheerful. What they heard though, made them both feel worse. Deciding to dedicate the song to each other, the other not knowing.
They both knew the song by the opening notes of music. Both sang the song silently to the other, thier way of truly saying goodbye to one another.
"This Romeo's bleeding
But you can't see his blood
It's nothing but some feelings
That this old dog kicked up
It's been raining since you left me
Now I'm drowning in the flood.
You see I've always been a fighter
But without you I give up.
Now I can't sing a love song
Like the way it's meant to be
I guess I'm not that good anymore
But baby that's just me.
And I
Will love you
Baby
Always!
And I'll be there
Forever and a day
Always!
I'll be there till the stars don't shine
Till the hevens burst
And the words don't rhyme
Baby when I die
You'll be on my mind
And I'll love you
Always!
Now your pictures that
You left behind
Are just memories
Of a different life.
Some they made us laugh
Some they made us cry
They made you
Have to say goodbye
Would I give to run my fingers
Trough you hair
To touch your lips
To hold you near
When you say your prayers
Try to understand
I've made mistakes
I'm just a man.
When he holds you close
When he pulls you near
When he says the words
Your've been meaning to hear.
I wish I was him
And those words were mine
To stay with you
Till the end of time
And I
Will love you
Baby
Always!
And I'll be there
Forever and a day
Always!
If you told me to cry for you
I could
If you told me to die for you
I would
Take a look at my face
There's no price I won't pay
To say these words to you
Well there ain't no love
In these loaded dice
Baby if you'd give me just one more try
I'll make you pack up our old drems
And our old lives
We'll find a place
Where the sun still shines
And I
Will love you
Baby
Always!
And I'll be there
Forever and a day
Always!
I'll be there till the stars don't shine
Till the heavens burst
And the words don't rhyme
Baby when I die
Youll be on my mind
And i'll love you
Always!
Always!"
As the last strings of music played, Nick flew back to the loft. He still needed to pack. He would leave tommorrow as the sun was close to rising.
Everything of value he had now, was anything that Natalie had touched. The thought of leaving her behind brought him to his knees. He buries his head in his hands and cried. He realised he couldn't stay at the loft any longer.
Packing only his clothes, he flew himself to the Raven, getting there just as the first of the sun's rays were peeking over the horizon. The club was closed and Nick went directly to the room LaCroix left for him.
He lay in the bed all day, not being able to sleep. The words to Always playing themselves over and over in his mind. He left as soon as the sun had set. He moved to Australia, which was both as far and as close to Nat as he was going to get in another country.
Natalie had stared at the radio, tears streaming down her face. She would have been there longer too, if it had not been the coroner for the day shift coming in 15 minutes early. He was worried about Dr Lambert and sent her home.
She went to Nick's loft instead. The sun was up, and he wasn't there. He had packed his clothes and that was it. He had left her. She knew in her heart that she would never see him again.
Natalie, grieving over the loss of Nick, didn't get to sleep at all that day. Her pillow was drenched from tears. Always, their song, even if Nick didn't know it, the only thing in her head.
When the sun had set, she went to the morgue and quit her job. There were too many memories to live with there and she, too, decided to move on.
She found a nice house in Vancouver and stayed there for the rest of her life.
Nick had never forgotten Natalie and always had one of the community watching her and reporting back to him how she was doing. When he got the call saying his love had died, he broke down.
Catching a flight to Vancouver, he sat beside her grave, realising she had died at the age of 71. She had never forgotten him and had died alone, no children and never married. She had hardly left the house.
Nick laid himself down on the plot where she was buried and stayed there, hoping that he would see Nat once again.
As the sun rose, it burnt his skin and turned his bones to ashes and he never so much as felt it. His only thoughts being that he would be with his Natalie again.
She was waiting for him at the crossroads, the desserty place he had visited twice before. She smiled and reached out her hand. He grabbed it and smiled. Together they made their way into the light.
Together
Forever
Always!
