This story has been running around my head for quite a while now, but
the recent DP challenge (that Tracy request a song on Lacroix's show)
finally gave me the right excuse to write it down!
Disclaimers: I don't own Forever Knight or the song quoted in this
little tale. I'm just taking them out for a little spin around the
block!
Permission to archive on Mel's site (www.fkfanfic.com), and on any DP
site, or NA site.
Speak... 01/01
By Laura K. Griffin
(c) July 30, 1999
She was depressed. And so was her partner. Things had been hectic at the
precinct, and they'd spent most of the past week catching up on
paperwork. Now they were on their way to interview a possible suspect
in a year-old, and as yet unsolved, homicide, and it seemed more like
busy-work than anything else; an excuse to get away from their desks.
Driving down the city streets of Toronto, the radio was tuned into CERK,
and the voice of the NightCrawler rambled on about something or other.
Something depressing. Neither listener in the car was actually
concentrating on the DJ's words, but the sound of his voice seemed to
leave them both in a funk. As the words on the airwaves led into what
sounded like a funeral dirge, Detective Vetter took action.
"That's it!! I can't take it anymore!" Tracy snapped as she grabbed her
cell phone and dialed a number from memory. Nick looked over at her in
surprise, but instead of asking the obvious question, he waited to hear
the one-sided phone call. "Hi.....Are you taking requests?.....uh
huh....yes, I know you're in the middle of a show, but I'm a faithful
listener and.....what?....you will? It's a pretty obscure little song,
but I'll bet you have it somewhere buried in the archives....oh, the
name of it?....It's called 'Speak to the Sky' and it's by....OH! You
know it then?.....oh....well yeah....I know it's not exactly the kind of
song you usually play, but I was hoping....I mean....Please?.....You'll
really play it?!....Can you play it right away?....Yes, I know I'm
asking a lot of you....Thank you so much. I owe you
one!....WHAT??....Uh....Sure...I mean...what the heck....uh....hold on a
sec...." Tracy covered the mouthpiece on the phone and whispered to Nick
that she needed a piece of paper. Grabbing a pen from her pocket, she
went back to the phone call. "Okay, go...uh huh....got it! I'll call you
there later. Thanks again!" And Tracy hung up the phone.
"What was that all about?" Nick had a pretty good idea now of just who'd
she'd been talking to, and he was more than a little concerned. Before
Tracy could answer the question, the NightCrawler's voice returned to
the airwaves.
"It's a beautiful night, gentle listeners...a new moon...no silver light
to cast shadows on the downtrodden...darkness reigns. And so at the
request of a beautiful listener, I offer this tribute to her and to
others who might find the darkness a bit tiresome....Even though this
song does not suit *my* particular tastes..." And then the sound of a
banjo (?) interrupted the usual gloom of NightWatch:
::::Speak to the sky, when ever things go wrong
::::And you know you're not talkin' to the air, to the air
::::And the world will look better from up there......
::::Speak to the sky 'cause things can get you down,
::::And you'll know when you're talkin' to the lord, to the lord,
::::The world will look better than before.......
Tracy smiled as the song played on, while Nick tried to drive while
picking his jaw up off the floor of the caddy!
::::And if I stumble, and it seems that I am blind,
::::Or if the road I'm on, seems awful hard to find,
::::And though my conversation doesn't always rhyme,
::::I always try to find some time....
::::To speak to the sky, and tell you how I feel,
::::And you know sometimes what I say ain't right,
::::It's all right, cause I speak to the sky every night.
By this point in the song, Nick couldn't suppress a grin, and Tracy
actually began to sing along. Nick noted to himself that his partner had
a pretty good singing voice, and then he surprised Tracy: he joined her
in a duet for the rest of the very-upbeat song!
::::Speak to the sky whenever things go wrong,
::::And you know your not talkin' to the air, to the air,
::::and the world will look better from up there....
::::and the world will look better from up there....
::::and the world will look better from up there....
The song ended, and both detectives smiled at each other and waited to
hear what the NightCrawler would have to add:
"And so, my children...now that you've heard 'Speak to the Sky' sung by
a certain *Rick Springfield*, what do you have to say? Are you stumbling
in the dark? Are you searching for the right road to travel? Do you
'speak to the sky'? Does it answer? I'll answer your cries....for I am
the NightCrawler...and I love you all." The sounds of a piano drifted
through the car speakers, and Nick identified it immediately as
'Moonlight Sonata;' one of his favorite songs. He found himself touched
by Lacroix's thoughtfulness...and perhaps a little suspicious.
"Well that was certainly different, Trace," Detective Knight said
quietly, still unable to wipe the grin off his face.
"I thought we needed a little change. Even the NightCrawler needs a
little pick-me-up, don't you think?"
Nick began laughing. And laughing. And LAUGHING, until he finally had to
give in to his good humor for fear that his sides were going to split
wide open, so he pulled the car over to avoid being a danger to himself
and the other Toronto drivers. When he recovered, he finally managed to
ask, "So what's with the phone number anyway?"
Tracy looked at him with a mysterious smile and said, "He promised to
play the song, but only if I agreed to call him to discuss my choice."
"That's it?"
"Well...not exactly. He said he'd only play the song if I agreed to meet
him after work. In other words....he wants a date!" In response, Nick
audibly gulped and then opened his mouth to suggest it was a bad idea,
but Tracy cut him off. "DON'T say it!! You're not my father...you're not
my brother...you're not Va....You're not the boss of me!" And then Tracy
laughed at the childish sounding taunt that had escaped her lips. "Uh..I
mean...I can take care of myself." And as if to prove that point to
Nick...and to herself...she picked up her phone and dialed the number
that she'd scribbled on the wrinkled sheet of note paper. "Oh...and
Nick...the NightCrawler said to tell you 'hi!'"
--End--
Cousin Laura
http://www.oocities.com/Area51/Portal/6866/Laura.htm
"Even though you're refracted,
you're still you." -- 'Picasso at the Lapin Agile'
(
geocities.com/area51/hollow/1228) (
geocities.com/area51/hollow) (
geocities.com/area51)