Title: Knighties: A Long Day's Journey Into Knight Passages (01/01) Time: Late Thursday afternoon and evening Place: The Loft By: Eowyn with input from the rest of the Knighties All Knighties used with permission. Nick came downstairs after getting a scant few hours of well-deserved sleep. The Knighties were delighted to see the handsome face had some life in it again. A smile played at the edges of Nick's mouth and his eyes sparkled. "Nick?" Eowyn dared to break the hushed silence. He walked over to the group of women and gently kissed and hugged each one. The newbie Knighties, Lisa, Tracey, Kristin and Jenn, blushed a little at the attention but the veteran Knighties glowed with the affection of their hero. Eowyn would have done her traditional Rubber-Legs/Melt-In-A-Puddle thingee if Roz hadn't poked her in the side and whispered that it would be more dignified to remain standing. "I missed all of you." "We missed you too, Nick! It's good to have you back!" They swarmed around him, not wanting to let him go anywhere without them. When he moved, they moved in a tight circle with him, as if to shield him from any other disasters. They were bound and determined to keep their handsome Knight from leaving them again. "Ladies, please! The premise has been solved. I'm not going anywhere!" The happy Knighties separated. Each found a seat that would afford her the best view of her hero. Many voices at once plied Nick with questions about the Natpack, the FoDs, CERK, what it was like to be LaCroix, how the Cousins treated him, the Shrine and Qa'Ra. "I have a proposal," he said quietly. Silence reigned. "Many of you have worked very hard to find the cause and the cure for the body-switching. I know you're tired and I've not gotten to spend much time with you. I wish I could've been here for you." "It wasn't your fault, Nick." Nancy tried to reassure the once again angsting vampire. Nick acknowledged Nancy and then continued, "Maybe not, but it's because of me that you're here. So to thank you for your loyalty, how about we all go on a vacation together? We'll go wherever you want." Excited voices all started at once again. Katrinka and Beth yelled out, "Alaska!" They looked at each other and just shrugged. "How about the Falkland Islands or Argentina?" Roz suggested. "There's lots of cows in Argentina." She winked. "There's lots of cows in Ireland, too. How about the west coast of Ireland?" Min added. Sandra chimed in, "Paris is nice this time of year. Hey Nick, doesn't The Brabant Foundation still own a castle in Belgium? We could go there." "What about New Zealand?" Tracey didn't mind getting a lift home even if it meant taking a round-about route and visiting fascinating places. She would have lots of time to get to know Nick, which was one of the reasons she had joined his faction. This war hadn't given her much opportunity to do that. "I don't care where we go. Let's just go!" Knightie heads nodded their agreement with Gem's sentiment. "So, you like the idea? It sounds like we're going to have take a trip around the world. How about a cruise? I can stay below deck and sleep while you ladies have fun topside and then we can all enjoy the ship's (k)night life together." As one, they all chorused, "Yes!" "But Nick, how will you eat? Katrinka, the ever practical, asked. "We can't smuggle enough blood on board a cruise ship to keep you from getting hungry." "Leave the details to me. I'll take care of everything. You just get your suitcases packed." He smiled and was happy to see that every Knightie face was grinning back at him. Their eyes glazed over as they imagined the places they might visit and the wonders they would see and do there, not to mention sharing it with Nick. "Go on now. Go pack! We'll leave before midnight." Knighties scrambled, ran, scurried (Oh wait, it's Ratpackers that scurry), bounced (only some Knighties bounced and others like Sandra, maintained a dignified rush), scooted and tore through the Loft to be the first to be ready. Not a one of them had thought to "phone home" but somehow that didn't matter. They were going on a fabulous vacation with their Knight. And they would have him all to themselves! No war. No Cousins. No Natpack. No Ratpack. No Nick and Natpack. No Grand High Poobah. No Mercs. No FoDs. No Vaqs. No Cousins of the Knight. No Ravenettes. No DarkPerks. No NAs. No LaCroix. No Janette. No Schanke. No Natalie. No Screed. No Vachon. No Tracy. No Llamas named Bonnie (And I was going to be out of character if *I* wrestled?). No Battle Yak (What the heck is a Battle Yak?). No Qa'Ra. No Pink Rats. No Elvis impersonators. No imploding Ratpack tunnels. No exploding Shrine. And ESPECIALLY, NO Warmistress. JUST NICK. ALL to themselves. Nick disappeared from their company. His step was light and his shoulders, relaxed. In the time it took to get their suitcases packed and stacked, Nick had called all their families and employers, arranged for a chartered plane to fly them to New York, booked a private cruise on Vampire Cruise Lines and chartered a bus to take them all to the airport. In spite of the fact that they were almost sleeping on their feet (they hadn't gotten to bed until 2 am the night before) and the bus wouldn't be there to pick them up until late in the evening, the excited Knighties couldn't risk closing their eyes lest they wake up and find another character inhabiting Nick's body or WORSE, that this was a really bad fanfic that would be ripped out of the printer, wadded up and tossed in the trash. (How's that for a complicated fanfic sentence?) They wanted every minute they could with Nick. While they waited for the bus, Nick answered their questions and regaled them with tales of his "out-of-his-own-body-and-into-someone-else's" experiences. They perked up when he told them how he had "updated" Schanke's wardrobe (Knighties love a good shopping tale), listened carefully when he described the inside of CERK (Brooksie had the foresight to take notes for future reference), shuddered when he told them how he had faced Qa'ra in LaCroix's body, and giggled with fiendish delight at the chaos Qa'Ra had visited on the NA. The Knighties hung on every word that came from Nick's mouth. The object of their admiration seldom had time to sit with them and tell stories. His melodious voice made the minutes fly by. They could've listened to him, Forever. Before they realized how much time had passed the bus arrived. Exhausted but ecstatic Knighties climbed aboard, chattering excitedly, while the bus driver just shook his head at the mound of luggage piled on the sidewalk. Resignedly he began stowing it in every nook and cranny of the cargo bay. Nick grinned at his Knighties. "And now ladies, it's your turn. I want to know what the others did while they were in MY body." Hardcopies of the Knighties' War Fanfic promptly filled Nick's hands when Eowyn wrote it that way. Nick spoke briefly to the bus driver, threw the reams of paper aside, then looked expectantly at his Knighties. "Let's not take that chance. Why don't you just *tell* me!" Nick said as the bus sped away into the Knight, white sheets of paper sailing out of the windows and scattering behind the bus. A curious figure picked up some of the pieces of paper and began reading. The End. (Good-bye Everyone!) _______________________________________________________________________ Eowyn eowyn3@juno.com