---- 1996 ----

Nick: Nat had made it very clear that she wanted to be with me no matter what it took. She wanted us to try Janette's cure, for me to make love to her and take just a little of her blood. I knew it was a bad idea. It had been far too long since I'd last drank human blood directly from the source, to have that sweet nectar flowing in from a beautiful, warm and desirable body. But I gave in to Nat's wishes because she had such faith in my control, in my desire not to hurt her. And for a moment or two, I thought she knew something about me that I didn't know. I thought there was a chance that I was indeed strong enough to control my inner demon and spare my lover's life. But I wasn't.

As I kneeled over her nearly lifeless body, I knew that I had taken too much. I had to either bring her across or allow her to die. I recalled bringing her brother across and how badly that turned out. I honestly couldn't imagine putting Natalie through that, even though she had voiced her approval at becoming a vampire. I placed Natalie in the same category as my sister Fleur, too full of goodness and light to be subjected to an eternity of death and darkness. And after making that heart-wrenching decision for her, I had to make one for myself.

When LaCroix arrived barely a moment later, I asked that he put me out of my misery once and for all. He'd told me a number of times in the past that since he was the one who created me, then he should be the one to destroy me. I could tell that it pained him greatly to finally claim the privilege, but I guess even he could see that my spirit had been completely broken and that there was no hope left for me. And as he raised the wooden staff and drove it deep into my heart, I bolted awake, screaming at the top of my lungs.

It had been the most vivid and terrifying nightmare I had ever had. I considered it less of a bad dream and more of a premonition of things to come. Things that might very well happen if I didn't do something to prevent them. It was clear in my mind what I had to do. It was time to leave. Nat may have been willing to risk her safety to be with me, but I could no longer accept the threat of anything happening to her because of my inability to control my beast. As painful as it was for the both of us, I knew that my leaving was for the best. I have no doubt that if I had stayed, my worst nightmare would have eventually become a reality.

Nick: I've kept track of Natalie over the years through a private detective who gives me occasional updates. Eighteen months after we parted, Nat met someone special, an accountant who did an excellent job on her taxes. They were married a year later and eventually became parents to a son and twin daughters. Nat gave up her job as a coroner to stay home with the kids and is now the grandmother of five. She and her husband Jacob are still together, apparently happy and in good health. Often, I find myself wishing that I could have been the one to give her those kids and that home in the suburbs. I still hope to live that kind of normal existence someday, but I no longer dwell on it so much.

I'm a vampire. I don't cringe anymore when I say that. It's not a disease to be cured. It's simply what I am. I no longer surround myself with mortals and I don't attempt to blend in as I have in the past. It leads to too much unhappiness when things go sour. I still have my charities and I still help out my fellow man when I can, but I do so from a distance, usually with a check. I spend a good deal of my time traveling the world with LaCroix. We don't fight the way we use to. Oh, he still rags me about my not wanting to kill, but since I no longer turn my nose up at human blood, he now considers me acceptable company.

I wasn't sure when I'd ever see Janette again. Upon leaving Toronto, she disappeared completely for the better part of a decade, then finally showed up in Paris where she opened up a new night spot for wayward vampires. I tried telephoning her a few times but she refused to accept my calls. I took the hint. She didn't want to see me. I wrote perhaps a hundred letters but only got around to mailing one of them. I let her know that I never stopped thinking of her, that I was truly sorry for what I'd done and I wished her well. I never received a reply, not that I actually expected one. I figured she'd be loathing me for some time yet to come.

Janette:  I mourned the death of Robert and the loss of my adopted son for many years. I also mourned the loss of my newly discovered humanity, but only briefly. I felt that if it happened once, there was that possibility that it could happen again. I thought of Nicolas often. I understood why he went against my wishes and rescued me from death. If things had been reversed, I know I would not have allowed him to die either. Still, it was a long time before I was able to bring myself to forgive his impulsiveness. Even longer before I was ready to see him again. Last week I received a letter from LaCroix. It contained a plane ticket and a hotel reservation along with a simple note which read, 'Happy Anniversary.'

Nick: LaCroix talked me into attending the Mardi Gras in New Orleans with him. What I didn't know was that he had been playing cupid and had also invited Janette to come as well. Last night I spotted her in the hotel lobby and nearly cried with joy. She was as radiant as ever. My heart threatened to explode in my chest when her eyes fell upon me. For one long, frightening moment, my world stopped altogether as I waited for it. And at last, there it was. Her eyes flashed a 'come to me' beacon that I could not help but obey. I moved towards her and we fell instantly into a passionate embrace. The centuries somehow simply melted away. She was my Janette again and I was her Nicolas.

Eight hundred years ago today, I met a beautiful, dark-haired woman who changed my life forever. Before falling asleep in my arms this morning, Janette asked me if I've ever regretted meeting her. I regret a multitude of sins I've committed before I became a vampire and since, but having Janette enter my world is something I will never regret. I recall the first time she left me back in the year 1500. She told me then that someday we would find each other, our eyes would meet and we would fall in love all over again. It may have taken awhile, but last night, it happened. We fell in love all over again. I don't know how long it will last this time. I only know that I will not take her love for granted again. She is my immortal beloved, and no matter what forces may come between us in the future, Janette will always hold a special place in my heart and I shall love her... forever.