This is a story for my friend, my long lost twin sister.  Without her I
 would never have had the courage to post my first story "Dogs Best Friend".
 I would still be a lurker (not that that's a bad thing!).
 
 Mary, I hope you enjoy this little fantasy I have put together for you.
 Remember that it has not been beta read as you are my beta, so there may be
 some silliness.  It comes from my heart so it means a great deal to me.  I
 truly hope that you have a wonderful birthday.  This is your story do with
 it as you wish!
 
 Happy Birthday my Twinner!
 
 
 To Mary on her 21st Birthday
 Part 1 of 2
 Ren
 2/98
 
 Renee sighed and pushed open the door to a small antique shop, the tinkling
 of the tiny bells that were attached to it irritated her.  She had been
 shopping all day for a gift.  A birthday gift to be exact.  A very special
 birthday gift for a very special friend to be even more exacting.
 Tomorrow, March 1st, was Mary Jenkins 21st birthday and Renee wanted to
 find something wonderful for her " Lost Twin".
 
 They discovered each other over the Internet.  Mary posted a story that
 Renee greatly admired.  When Renee sent a note thanking her for a "great
 read" Mary answered, and so it had grown, this friendship that meant so
 much to both of them.  They discovered, to their delight, things that they
 had in common.  So many things that they decided they were, indeed "Lost
 Twins", separated at birth.  No matter that Ren was older and far shorter
 than Mary, fate had deemed them twins and even more importantly, friends
 for life.  That was why the gift was so important to Renee.
 
 They decided to meet in Toronto to celebrate.  Since they met through the
 Forever Knight FANFIC link, and as Forever Knight was set and filmed in
 Toronto,  it seemed appropriate.  Ren had arrived a day early to prepare
 for the birthday celebration.  She hadn't expected the gift hunt to be so
 difficult, and had reached the desperation point about five shops ago.  The
 store she had just entered was the last on the street and also the last one
 that she intended on stepping foot in tonight.
 
 'My feet hurt, I have a headache and a backache,  I'm tired and I need some
 chocolate.'  Ren crabbed to herself.  Of course she did realize that
 leaving gift shopping till the last minute was not a particularly wise
 practice, and every time Ren did it she promised herself it would be the
 last time.  She usually comforted herself by thinking that she did seem to
 do her most 'inspired' buying that way.  However, at the moment,
 inspiration did not appear to be ready to strike.  Nothing was good enough
 - unusual enough for Twin Mary's special day.
 
 "I surrender!"  Ren announced to no one in particular
 
 "Don't say that unless you mean it."  A deep masculine voice whispered into
 her ear.
 
 Ren yelped and jumped knocking over a stack of crocheted doilies in the
 process.  Turning to confront the voice that had startled her she found
 herself looking into an incredibly soulful pair of dark brown eyes.  "Oh,"
 she stammered, "You startled me..." she broke off staring at him - large
 expressive dark eyes, long unruly black hair,  'God, he looks like...',
 
 "Vachon?"  She blurted out.
 
 "Excuse me?"  He looked confused.
 
 "I, I'm sorry.  You just look so much like some one."  'Idiot' she mentally
 berated herself, Javier Vachon is just a character on a TV show'.
 
 He held his hand out to her, "This is my place, just thought maybe I could
 help you find what you're looking for."
 
 She introduced herself and shook his outstretched hand.  It's coolness
 surprised her.  Noticing her reaction he smiled, "Sorry, just came in from
 outside."
 
 'Of course,' Ren told herself  'why else would his hand be so cold?  Get a
 grip girl, there are no vampires in Toronto.'  "I'm um, looking for a
 birthday gift for a friend.  It's her 21st birthday and I was really trying
 to find something special, you know, one of a kind - like her."  She looked
 up into those eyes again.  her Inner Voice warned.
 
 "Special."  He repeated thoughtfully as he studied her face.  She suddenly
 realized that he was still holding her hand and slowly, regretfully, she
 removed it, "Oh, sorry," he shrugged and gave her a slow half smile, "I was
 enjoying your warmth."
 
  The pesky Inner Voice piped up again, 
 
 'Mary's gift?'  Ren was staring into the depths of those velvet eyes.
 Suddenly shaking her head she squeaked out, "Yeah, um, Mary, my twin... her
 gift.  That's what I'm here for."  Blinking her eyes she turned away and
 began digging through the toppled pile of doilies as though her life
 depended on it.
 
 "Twin?"  She heard him exclaim behind her, "You have a twin?"
 
 "Well um, not really - not technically... see we, that is I..."   Inner Voice offered.
 
 "It's a long story."  Ren finished.
 
 "I've got all the time in the world."  Was his seductive response.
 
 Ren turned around to find him standing far too close.  He gave her a
 devastating grin then quickly became all business.
 
 "A gift for someone very special to you.  I think we can do a lot better
 than a doily don't you?"  Again with the grin.
 
 Ren released a breath she didn't realize she had been holding and replied,
 "I hope so."
 
 "Right this way."  He grabbed Ren's hand and pulled her along toward the
 back of the shop.  He released her and vanished behind a counter for a
 moment.  When he stood back up he was holding a badly tarnished sterling
 silver coffee pot.  He sat it on the counter with a flourish and announced,
 "There, perfect."
 
 Ren stared at it.  'Well, it was pretty and if it were polished up it would
 be very impressive looking.  Also, she and Mary were both coffee addicts so
 it did have meaning for the two of them.'  "How much?"  She loved to
 haggle.
 
 To her great surprise, and disappointment, he quoted her a price that was
 actually lower than the one she was going to shoot for.  He also offered to
 throw in a buffing cloth to clean it up with.
 
 "Done!" Ren announced before he had the chance to change his mind.
 
 While he wrapped up the coffee pot for her she pondered her situation.
 'What to do, what to do?  God, he is so fine!  Gorgeous, owns an antique
 shop, this guy is too good to be true.'  Her thoughts were interrupted by
 the tinkling of the front door bells.
 
 Several customers were now entering the shop gesturing wildly and speaking
 loudly to each other in a language Ren didn't understand.  Her coffee pot,
 now securely wrapped for the trip back to the hotel, was handed to her by
 her 'dream man'.  They both started when something at the front of the shop
 crashed to the floor.
 
 "Thanks mi amante."  he quickly said.  Then with one more knee weakening
 smile he took off toward the sound of the crash.
 
 Ren heard the argument that followed.  Apparently he spoke what ever their
 language was.  It didn't seem as though this was going to wrap up any time
 soon and she still had things to do.  She shook her head sadly and slipped
 out a back door.  As she began her walk back to the hotel she realized that
 'dream man' never even told her his name.
 
 Back at the hotel she stopped at the concierge's desk and discussed plans
 for tomorrow evening.  He agreed to make reservations for her at the finest
 Italian restaurant in town, first making sure that they had a good
 selection of vegetarian choices of course.  She arranged a limousine for
 the evening and got tips about the best night spots.
 
 At last she was in her room.  Exhausted she fell back on the bed and closed
 her eyes.  One more item remained, polishing the coffee pot.  She groaned
 and rolled over to her side to stare at the package she had left sitting on
 the dresser.
 
 "Okay," she bargained with herself, "just get up and do that and you can
 order coffee and a hot fudge sundae from room service."  Realizing that she
 wasn't going to get a better deal she complied.
 
 Holding the pot in her hands and examining it closely she was even more
 pleased with it.  She reached back into the bag and pulled out the cloth
 'dream man' had insisted she use.  Now back on the bed with all of the
 pillows behind her aching back she began to clean it up.
 
 As she rubbed she was amazed at the shininess under the tarnish, it really
 was coming off quite easily.  The pot began to get unusually warm and Ren
 started to worry that there might be some sort of chemical on the cloth
 which was causing the heat and the tingling she was feeling in her hands.
 Suddenly it became burning hot and Ren dropped it to the carpeted floor.
 It glowed with a silvery light and dazzling sparkles seemed to float around
 it.  The light became so bright that Ren closed her eyes for a moment.
 When she opened them she blinked and rubbed at them to be sure she wasn't
 seeing things.  There, standing before Ren with the coffee pot laying at
 her sandal clad feet, wearing a fuchsia colored harem girl outfit, stood
 Janette DuCharme.
 
 "I am the Janette of the lamp."  She regally announced.
 
 Ren sat on the bed and stared with her mouth hanging open.
 
 Janette sneered and placed her hands on her hips,  "Aren't you going to say
 anything?"
 
 Under the circumstances the best that poor Ren's befuddled brain could come
 up with was, "Holy Shit!"
 
 Janette muttered various French vulgarities then stepped over to the
 mirror.  "Mon Dieu!"  She shrieked upon seeing her reflection, "That skinny
 bitch will pay for this!"  She ripped the tiny satin covered hat off of her
 head pulling at the chiffon that went under her chin.
 
 It was all to much for Ren to bear, "Can you please tell me what the hell
 is going on."  She demanded, standing up and walking over to Janette.
 
 The beautiful brunette, eyes flashing with sapphire blue fire, snarled out
 an answer, "I was tricked by a spiteful Sorceress.  My punishment was
 imprisonment in the lamp until someone cared enough about the wretched
 thing to clean it up thereby releasing me.  This,"  she yanked at the
 voluminous chiffon that floated around her legs, "was her little joke."
 She whirled away from the mirror and grasped Ren's shoulders, "Please, you
 must have something that I can put over this.  I CAN NOT be seen this way!"
 
 Ren tried hard to absorb all of this, "Okay, so you're telling me that the
 vampires from Forever Knight are real?"
 
 Janette was trying valiantly to keep from ripping out the throat of this
 irritating mortal, "Yes," she began through gritted teeth, "You didn't
 really think that some TV people could come up with characters such as we
 did you?"
 
 A pair of brown eyes flitted through Ren's mind, "Well, if you're a vampire
 why don't you just fly back to your, well... to where ever it is that you
 live.  No one will be able see you."
 
 Janett's eyes were beginning to become golden edged, "Someone from the
 'community' could still see me!"
 
 "Fine!"  Ren stalked over to the closet and pulled out a raincoat.  "Here."
 
 Janette snatched it out of Ren's hands had it on, buttoned and tied faster
 than any mortal's eyes could follow.  She smirked then headed for the
 window and fell flat on her face.  The vulgarities that filled the air this
 time were not French but were still quite colorful.  As she struggled to
 sit up she caught a glimpse of Ren's obvious amusement,  "What is it? Why
 can't I leave?" Janette snarled.
 
 "Well," Ren forced herself to contain her smile, "If the legend holds true
 I believe that you are supposed to grant me a wish in order for the spell
 to be completely broken."
 
 Still sitting on the floor, Janette considered this.  Finally deciding that
 it was worth a try she looked up at Ren and said,  "Very well, what do you
 want?"
 
 "Tomorrow night I want my friend Mary Jenkins to have a wonderful,
 romantic, exciting, sexy evening with Lucien LaCroix."  Ren announced with
 authority.
 
 "WHAT!!"  Janette spat out.
 
 "You heard me 'Jeannie'."  Ren smugly replied, " Tomorrow is her twenty
 first birthday and I want it to be perfect.  Now get crackin'.  Oh and by
 the way, just for the record it wasn't even really a lamp that the
 Sorceress imprisoned you in," she leaned over and picked up the fallen
 carafe.  Holding it with one finger by the handle and letting it dangle Ren
 leaned in close to Janette and whispered, "It was a coffee pot."
 
 Janette shrieked in anger and glared at Ren with flaming eyes.  After a
 long moment she composed herself and  spoke,  "So it shall be done," she
 paused, smiled darkly and then added sarcastically, "Master."  With that
 Janette felt herself become free of the spell.  She briefly considered
 draining this mortal but,  there were scores to settle and she didn't want
 to waste time.  Also,  she had found the blond mortals 'moxie'  rather
 impressive, and she admired women who showed loyalty to their friends.
 Janette stood and tightened the raincoats belt, then in one motion the
 window was open and she was gone.  Ren ran over and looked out in an
 attempt to catch a glimpse of her flight but there was no sign of her.
 
 As she pulled the window shut the phone began to ring.  Ren walked over
 reached out a hand for the receiver and found that she was unable to pick
 it up.  It continued ringing with insistence and Ren kept trying to pick it
 up.  Suddenly her eyes flew open and she found herself laying on the bed
 still in the outfit she had on yesterday with the now shining coffee pot
 still sitting in her lap.  A dream?  It had all been a dream?  No!  It
 couldn't have been, she had not had a dream so vivid since she was a child.
 She picked up the phone and muttered a groggy "Hello?"
 
 "Twinner?" Mary yelled over the phone.
 
 Ren was immediately wide awake, "Mary, is it really you?  Where are you?"
 
 "I'm in the lobby, get your lazy ass out of bed we need coffee!"  was
 Mary's reply.
 
 "I'm on my way!"  Ren squealed.  She jumped out of bed dropping the coffee
 pot in the process.  Picking it up brought back more details of the dream.
 For a moment she paused and admired the way that it gleamed in the morning
 sunlight.  She could hardly wait to give it to Mary tonight after dinner.
 Sitting it back on the dresser she opened the door and ran out to meet her
 twin.
 
 After several minutes of hugging and jumping up and down in delight,  Mary
 and Ren headed to the hotel dining room for breakfast and their all
 important coffee.   The hostess showed them to a table and suggested the
 breakfast buffet.  Since they were both starving, in addition to suffering
 from severe caffeine depravation, they eagerly agreed.  As soon as they had
 made it perfectly clear to the hostess that yes they absolutely had to have
 an entire pot of coffee for themselves they grabbed their plates and headed
 up to the buffet area.  What they found stopped them dead in their tracks!
 There was a chef who's only responsibility was preparing omelets.  The
 ingredients that were available included five different types of cheeses,
 fresh mushrooms, red or green peppers, onions, broccoli, asparagus and
 salsa.  Another station held fresh waffles with topping choices such as,
 Bananas Foster, whipped butter, pecans or walnuts,  fresh raspberries,
 strawberries or blueberries, chocolate chips and whipped cream along with
 three different flavors of syrups.  Ren gasped and grabbed Mary's arm and
 pointed to a Chef who was preparing French Toast.  When they approached
 this station the Chef told them that in addition to French Toast he could
 also prepare Park Avenue Toast which consisted of two slices of  cinnamon
 raisin bread with a layer of cream cheese in between them then it was
 prepared in the traditional manner.  Mary pulled Ren over to another table
 which was covered with different types of breads including fresh bagels
 with various flavors of cream cheese to choose from.  As they watched a
 waiter brought over a tray of onion bagels so fresh they were still
 steaming.  They wandered over to a long table filled with silver serving
 dishes.  There were various hot items like scrambled eggs, hash browns,
 quiche... too many to even count.  Suddenly they both looked at each other
 and slowly turned toward the last table.  Their mouths dropped open at the
 same time and they both ran toward it, the DESSERT table!  Every type of
 cake and pastry imaginable was represented.  Chocolate dipped strawberries
 and chocolate raspberry mousse sat unprotected and waiting for them on the
 linen covered table.  Carrot cake with cream cheese frosting, cheese cake
 with chocolate sauce, petit- fours, bon-bon's, apple dumplings, chocolate
 chip cookies and brownies.  Mary was tugging on Ren's sleeve and pointing
 to a small sign that read, "Please see your waiter for today's ice cream
 selection, Mint Chocolate Chip!"  The two blondes turned to each other and
 screamed with joy!
 
 While they feasted Ren told Mary about the antique shop and it's owner and
 parts of her dream, leaving out the details of the coffee pot of course, it
 was after all her gift!  When they were finally too stuffed to eat another
 bite they decided to head up to their rooms to freshen up before heading
 out to explore the city together.
 
 After a quick shower and makeup application Ren was finishing drying her
 hair when Mary knocked on the door to their adjoining rooms and walked in.
 Ren shut off the dryer and checked out her blond pageboy styled hair in the
 mirror.  "It'll have to do."  she remarked then headed out.
 
 Noticing that Mary was wearing a light jacket Ren went to the closet to
 grab a coat.  She was surprised that only her heavy jacket was hanging
 there.  "That's funny."  she commented grabbing the jacket, "I could have
 sworn I brought a lighter coat along."
 
 "Hey, didn't you give it to the 'Janette of the lamp'?"  Mary laughed.
 
 "Oh yeah," Ren answered with mock seriousness, "Gee I hope she gets it dry
 cleaned before she returns it!"  Both laughing they headed out to the
 elevator.  As the door's of the elevator closed Ren became serious for a
 moment and said, "It's really too bad that dreams don't come true."
 
 They explored Toronto, not missing a single coffee or chocolate shop.  It
 was a magical day for both of them.  They drank so much coffee and ate so
 much chocolate that their hands shook from the caffeine.  They laughed so
 hard at their jokes their sides ached.  They came up with ideas for future
 stories, re-wrote 'Last Knight', decided on casting for the 'Forever
 Knight' feature film they knew they would someday produce and kept seeing
 Nick Knight in the strangest places.
 
 "Look Ren, there he is again!"  Mary pointed at a blond man changing a tire
 exposing serious butt cleavage
 
 "Ack!!"  Ren had to cover her mouth to keep from laughing too loud.  "Stop
 it."
 
 Through her own laughter Mary managed to get out, "Are you sure it was down
 this street?"
 
 They were trying to locate the antique shop with the Vachon look-a-like.
 Ren stopped and looked around.  "Yeah, I'm almost positive.  Of course I
 was pretty tired and in desperate need of a coffee/chocolate fix so I
 suppose I could have been hallucinating."  She glanced down at her watch,
 "Jeez, look at the time!  We've got reservations for dinner and we have got
 to look fabulous.  We better get back, we can always look again tomorrow."
 
 When they arrived back at the hotel they both went directly to their rooms
 to get ready.  Ren was in her room heading for the bath when she heard Mary
 call her.  She walked next door and immediately saw what it was about.  On
 the night stand next to Mary's bed were two dozen Sterling Silver Roses.
 They were artfully arranged in what appeared to be a Waterford crystal
 vase.  Their intoxicating scent filled the room.  "Oh my god Mar who are
 these from?"  Ren managed to say.
 
 "I don't know, I thought maybe they were from you."  Mary said staring at
 the beautiful blooms, "The card only says, 'To Mary on her Twenty First
 Birthday'."
 
 "You think maybe your folks or your brother?"  Ren offered.
 
 "I don't know," Mary began,  she turned and pointed, "but look at what's on
 the bed."
 
 "JESUS!!"  Ren blurted out.  She couldn't help it.  A magnificent Vera Wang
 original lay on the bed.  Black silk, high necked, sleeveless and
 incredibly short it looked like it was made for Mary.  A pair of shiny
 black pumps with three inch heels sat next to the dress along with
 complementing undergarments.  "Mary, do you think your folks did all this?"
 
 Mary smiled picked up the dress and held it against her.  "I don't know but
 I'm gonna look hot tonight!"
 
 As they made their way through the lobby to their waiting limousine they
 attracted quite a bit of attention.  The dress did indeed fit Mary as
 though it were made for her.  The length, or lack thereof, combined with
 the heels showed off her long legs to perfection.  A diamond tennis
 bracelet sparkled around her right wrist.  It had arrived just before they
 came down.  Again the card only said "To Mary on her Twenty First
 Birthday".  Ren wore a low cut black velvet Jessica McClintock dress and
 the diamond earrings that she had received as a gift on a birthday of her
 own, though she did not care to divulge what age she had turned when she
 received them.  Ren's hair was pinned up in a sleek French twist, Mary's
 was loose and shining around her face.  They turned to each other and
 smiled.
 
 "Damn, we look good!"  Mary commented.
 
 "Damn right!"  Ren replied.
 
 They headed out.  The doorman tipped his hat and opened the door for them.
 As they waited under the canopy for their ride Mary noticed a sleek black
 car quickly approaching.  She squinted (she had chosen to leave her glasses
 in the room) and remarked, "Ren *That* is a Jaguar XK8 convertible pulling
 up, who do you think is going to get out of that?"
 
 Ren peeked around Mary and said, "Tough to see through the tinted windows."
 
 The shiny black car stopped in front of them and the doorman immediately
 ran over and opened the driver side door.  Mary and Ren stood silent in
 shocked amazement.  The tall man that had emerged from the Jaguar who was
 immaculately dressed in a black Armani tuxedo and was now standing in front
 of them holding a single red rose was Lucien LaCroix.
 
 "LACROIX?!!!"  Both girls exclaimed in harmony.
 
 He gazed at the perfect bloom for a moment then looking back at them raised
 an eyebrow and replied, "Indeed."  He inclined his head toward Ren and then
 turned to Mary taking her right hand in his he lifted it to his lips and
 kissed it, then said, "To Mary, on her Twenty First Birthday."
 
 Ren stepped back and said, "Ya know Mary, suddenly I don't feel so good.
 Why don't you and Nunk... I mean LaCroix go to dinner.  The reservations
 are at..."
 
 "I know where the reservation is being held."  LaCroix interrupted her.
 "Mary, are you ready?  We do have a *long* night ahead of us my dear."
 
 Mary turned to Ren her face was attractively flushed, "Ren I don't want to
 leave you on your own..."  she broke off.
 
 Ren hugged her and said, "Happy birthday my Twin.  I'll see you tomorrow
 afternoon, late afternoon."  Then she gave her a gentle push in the
 direction of the Jaguar.
 
 LaCroix closed the door after Mary and turned to Ren, "Rest assured fair
 lady that your friends evening will be all that you wished for her."
 
 "I didn't doubt it for a second." Ren smiled.
 
 He smiled mysteriously and handed her the rose, "One should never give up
 on their dreams too quickly, my dear."  With that he walked to the drivers
 side and slipped into the car.
 
 As they pulled away,  the limo that Ren had arranged for pulled up.  A
 doorman ran out and opened the door for her.  'Why not?' she thought.
 'I'll go for a ride,  buy a pizza and eat it in the room.  Maybe there's
 even a Harrison Ford movie on.'  As she leaned forward to get in she
 realized that someone was already in the car.  She leaned further in and
 found herself staring into the eyes of her 'dream man' from the antique
 shop.  He reached out and took her hand and gently pulled her in next to
 him.  Looking down at her he touched her face and said, "I realized after
 you left that I never told you my name, it's Javier Vachon."
 
 The door closed and they headed off into the night.  Renee leaned back into
 the plush upholstery crossed her legs and thought, "Well, I guess that
 sometimes dreams *do* come true."
 
 
 Renee Miller 
DarkPNinja@aol.com

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