Tracy Vetter grinned brightly at the ghost in the elevator. She hadn't really known Urs well when they had both been alive, oddly enough given the men their lives had shared, given Vachon. That still hurt, thinking too long or hard about the Spanish vampire. It was hard to believe it had been a year since he had been killed. It had been that long for Urs as well, but did Nick ever go to the church where Vachon had died... had killed himself? Nope, of course not. And Tracy was still bound to a certain range around Nick.
That had been bad enough, but it had been worse for Urs. The same vampire who had killed Vachon had killed her as well, in the elevator to Nick's loft... and that was where Urs had been stuck all this time. She had not been able to step out of the elevator. At least, Tracy had some ten or so meters that she could get from Nick, a range that was steadily increasing as she got used to her new circumstances.
And it was getting better for Urs. Today marked the first time she had been able to leave the elevator. The pair of them had taken to experimenting with this while Nick was asleep upstairs, anything to keep another fit of depression at bay. Tracy wasn't fond of Lacroix, though Urs didn't seem to mind him in the least, apparently knowing more than a few strange characters in her day-and if Nick got too upset, it wouldn't be too long before Lacroix found a way to turn up. He was like a bad penny that way.
She wouldn't actually mind the man too much if he could do something to stir Nick. Yes, she might think he was creepy as hell, but he obviously cared for Nick. And he was trying. God, but was he trying. She didn't even know where he came up with some of the things he had tried over the last year, except that she was pretty sure that it was desperation more than anything else. Not much stirred Nick these days, even the pretty vampire woman named Janette that Lacroix had brought and left for a few weeks. While Nick had roused himself more than he had for much else, ultimately Janette had had to leave and that had been the end of that upswing.
Maybe Urs' major victory here would do something to cheer Nick up. They could hope anyway.
She felt bad for the guy. She really did. It had been a horrible year, last year, for him. Captain Cohen and his partner Schanke had died. Nick had actually gotten shot himself. Screed had died of some weird vampire plague. Vachon and Urs died at the hands of some weird ancient vampire. Nick had apparently nearly been killed by the same creature. She had died. Natalie had died, by Nick's hand, even if it had been an accident. Lacroix had almost killed Nick at Nick's request... and she still wasn't sure that Nick had forgiven her stopping Lacroix. She couldn't blame him for trying to shut the world out. She defied anyone to do that.
But damn it, he needed to get out of this house. Too much had happened here, so much of it bad, and it couldn't be good for him. Once they could figure out a way to get Urs mobile, she was going to start insisting that they all move, even Lacroix if needs be. They needed to leave this loft, if not Toronto altogether.
Maybe if they could figure out a way to bind Urs to someone, as she was bound to Nick... And in the meanwhile, she would just keep on working on Nick. He sometimes responded to her taunts and pointed remarks, as much as he responded to anything these days, and she was taking that as a positive sign.
Even if he was living to keep her on this plane of existence or whatever, at least he was still alive. That was what she told herself to get through the long days and nights.
And now she had Urs to help, now that Urs was developing some range. She was looking a little shaky, but it was improvement. Tracy offered her an encouraging grin and tried not to laugh as Urs carefully skirted the couch. Tracy had learned quickly enough that she could walk right through furniture and walls... or, alternatively if she tried hard enough, she could utilize them for their intended purposes. It had taken her a bit, though, to get used to not having her own body anymore, but it was better than being gone, she figured. Being a ghost had some perks.
One of them, she decided then and there, was being able to see the look on Urs' face as she finally made it to the oversized window on the far side of the room. Nick had taken to leaving it open for her to see out while she was stuck here with him, and she and Urs had set it as Urs' goal: it was to be her first target after she finally managed to leave the elevator.
The blonde woman's face lit up like the sun, a huge smile spreading happily, even as the faintest impression of tears glimmered in her eyes. She stood in front of the window, lifting one pale hand to the glass, and let out a sound that was more laughter than tears.
"Urs?" Tracy prompted, immediately at her friend's side.
"It's been so long since I've seen the sun..."
30 December 2013
The latest in the series to be written, this one only premiered on my journaling community this month, December 2013. It was written by me, Apollymi, for Katsuko - and for myself, because I'm mostly feeling like Nick in this series.
Here's a couple of stunners I found out when I was doing research for this story: this shipping name for Nick/Vachon is Heartbreakers or The Night Haven; there doesn't seem to be a shipping name for Urs/Tracy; and I identify too much with Nick Knight sometimes. I wrote some 300 words of character analysis on him last night, ending with "Seriously, I think there's a damn good reason why this series ends in assisted suicide".
This is the latest part written. Another should come out fairly early in the new year, since I discovered I need to rewatch Season Three. Tracy remains a unique sort of ghost, even by Forever Knight standards. And I like her that way.
If you are still reading this, please leave a comment or something.
Apollymi