See Part 1 for disclaimer.Chapter 4
One week later, Loft:Nick was sitting on the couch reading a book and Janette was at the kitchen doing the supper dishes. Luke was laying on the floor drawing a picture. There had been no attacks since the two almost a week ago. Luke had been very quiet since the last attack. He did not say much to anyone, and he did not stray very far from either Janette or Nick. He needed to feel that they were always close to him.
They had taken Luke to the park yesterday, as that was his favorite place. The green grass, the best climbing trees in Toronto, and the Lake. Luke loved the lake. He liked to watch the ships and barges pass, tooting their whistles at each other. And he loved to watch the ducks swim and dive into the water. In fact, one of his favorite pastimes at the park was to go to the water's edge, take off his shoes and wade into the cold lake water. Sometimes, Janette would give him bread crumbs to throw at the ducks. He loved to watch them get closer and closer to him until he was actually able to touch them. They did not seem to be afraid of him. But then, he was that way with all animals. There once was a time when a couple of squirrels had let Luke actually pick them up and pet them.
But this time had been different. Luke had been somewhat excited when he knew they were going to the park, and sat in the car with his head almost out the window, watching for the lake to appear in front or him. But when they arrived, and set up the blanket Luke had taken a few steps toward the water, then came back to grab his father's hand. Even as Janette set up the picnic lunch, he would not leave his father's side. Nick, one tried to steer Luke toward the lake, but he refused to move. He was not going to let go of his father, and he was not going to stray too far from his mother's side. It had been a hopeless gesture to cheer him up. He did not even show an interest when a couple of ducks strayed toward the blanket. When Nick looked up at Janette she was crying. She was as miserable as her son, and so Nick had reluctantly decided that it was time to go home.
Now, they were at home, quiet, and silent. No one seemed to want to intrude in the solitude of the moment. The silence was almost eerie. Nick shuddered as he read his book. But then he was not really reading. Every once and a while he would glance down at his son. Luke would look up at him with such sad eyes. Then go back to drawing. It was as if each of them were anticipating another attack. And they did not have long to wait.
Luke sat up to inspect his drawing and then suddenly clutched his stomach, moaning! Within minutes he began to gag, and fluid and undigested food, flooded the floor. Nick rushed to his side and held his head. Janette grabbed a large towel, and wet it. She ran to them ready to wipe Luke's forehead. Luke continued to convulse and gag, sending more fluid on the floor! Finally, after what seemed like forever, he calmed and began panting. When Nick was sure he was through, he picked him up and carried him to the bathroom. Janette stood there, tears in her eyes, and watched Nick climb the stairs with a limp Luke leaning his head on Nick's shoulder.
Nick sat his son down on the counter top of the sink and began to run the bath water. Just as he was about to take off Luke's clothes, he began to gag again! This time, Nick was ready and lifted Luke over to the toilet. He held his head back, so he wouldn't choke and rubbed his back. When Luke finally relaxed somewhat, Nick flushed the toliet and took a trembling Luke into his arms. He took off his clothes and helped him into the bathtub. Luke sat there shaking and trembling. Then he began to softly cry. "Daddy, I'm sorry I made a mess on the floor!"
"It's alright, Luke. You can't help it when your sick." Nick said as he ran warm water over his son's back. The burns from the last week had healed nicely! But now there was another problem to overcome. What next? "Do you feel better, now?"
Luke looked up at Nick with those piercing, but beautiful sky blue eyes and said, "Yes, Daddy. My stomach doesn't hurt anymore!" and then he added softly, "But I'm kinda sleepy!" And Luke let out a big yawn.
Nick smiled, "As well you should be! Let's finish this bath quickly and get you dressed for bed, shall we?" And he began to wash his son's hair.
About an hour later, Nick came down the stairs carrying Luke in his arms. Luke had almost fallen asleep during the bath, but Nick had managed to keep him awake until he was out and dressed. Now he was almost asleep in his arms. Nick did not dare take the chance of putting him in his bed. He wanted to keep his son near him, in fear of another attack. When he got to the bottom of the stairs, Janette looked at Nick and said, "Is he ok now?"
"Yes, I think so. He had one more episode in the bathroom before we started his bath, but none since then." Nick said softly. "I think this crisis is over for now!"
"Oh, my love!" Janette said, stroking Luke's hair as she looked at her sleeping son in Nick's arms, "How much more of this can Luke take?" she said in frustration. "He can barely sleep for more than 2 hours at a time! What are we going to do?"
"Hold on and try to find out the cause, Janette." Nick said firmly. Looking down at his sleeping son in his arms, he said "We must not give up, sweetheart. We can't give up! And I know that Lacroix, wherever he is, somehow is trying to help us, too!" Then as he sat down with Luke on the couch and Janette sat down on the couch beside Nick he turned to his wife and placed a kiss on her trembling lips. "We must get through this, Janette! I will not lose my son to anyone. Human or monster!" And they hugged each other as best they could with Luke lying asleep between them.
Alexandria, EgyptLacroix stood in front of the Library of Alexandria and sighed. It had been two weeks, since he had left Toronto, and he knew from the mind link and phone calls from his son that Luke had suffered more attacks. This has got to stop. He had one last place to look before he left Egypt. Here at the Library he would look up his old friend, Davus his friend from ancient Rome. Shortly after Divia had brought him across, he had brought Davus across. He needed a friend and ally at that time. Then when he had decapitated his daugher/master he had come to Davus for comfort. This was the one true friend he had. A man, who was a Roman like himself. Proud, aristocratic, unyielding, and loyal! If there was one thing he could count on, it was help from his friend Davus!
Lacroix climbed the stairs and entered the Library. He walked into the Ancient Civilization Section and moved through the aisles. He turned and saw a short, well-groomed handsome man in his mid-forties pouring over what appeared to be some ancient text. He smiled and walked closer. In a somewhat whispered voice he said, "Still trying to find the ancient resting place of the Goddess Aphrodite's Urn of Love?"
The man at the desk glanced up a frown on his face, that suddenly broke into a large grin. "Lucien Lacroix, as I live and breathe! Lucien!" he said in an excited voice as he got up and hugged his old friend. Then backing away a little he said, "What brings you to Egypt, my friend?"
Lacroix's face fell and he frowned as he said, "Trouble of the worse to be sure, Davus! Is there somewhere we can go to talk in private?"
Davus looked at Lacroix with puzzlement and concern for he could tell from his voice that there was a very great problem pressing in on his old friend. "Yes, of course, Lucien. Just let me put this text away, and we will go to my home." he said, getting the book off the table and heading for the shelves.
Lacroix watched him replaced the book. He was glad he had thought of Davus. He was a true Roman in every sense of the word. One thing he could be sure of was his loyalty. In all the time Lacroix had known Davus, he would never betray Lacroix's friendship or his whereabouts. In that, he was not unlike Aristotle who kept the vampire's locations a secret undo death, (or undeath as the case may be).
Davus was a historian with the Library of Alexandria. This was most appropriate as that was his position in Ancient Rome, when Lacroix had first met him. He knew secrets of all civilizations and locations of rare artifacts that would take archeologists centuries to find. He as very good at his job and relished every morsel of history! He would be the only one who could help Lacroix find out the person responsible for the attacks on young Luke!
Chapter 5
A couple of hours later, Lacroix and Darius sat on the library of Darius' spacious home. It over looked the city and had a good view of the Library of Alexandria. Darius liked the life of luxury and his house showed it. There were marble busts of every historic figure from Moses down to FDR. He had stopped with World War II as he got bored with battles! There were even rare paintings and tapestries hung on every wall, and the furniture was the most expensive and luxurious as could be found. The rooms were quite large and had very high windows. Hugh velvet curtains covered the windows during the day, and were gracefully tied back at night to let in the beautiful view of the city. In the back of the house lay the large vineyard. Darius was emphatic about maintaining it at all costs, and didn't care if he had to run underground pipes all the way to the Nile to keep it alive! He would never part with his precious vineyard, and the incredible wine he made from its products.
Lacroix and Darius had settled on the balcony of the second floor in the house. The gentle breeze coming from the distant river blew careless across the balcony and into the house. "So you are wondering who could be behind these attacks on your grandchild?" Darius said, interrupting Lacroix's thoughts as he poured another glass of human blood laced with wine from his vineyards for Lucien.
"Yes. I am certain he must be an ancient one, such as we are. Someone with somekind of grudge, I suppose. But I can't think who of my enemies, and I assure you I have many," Lacroix added with a certain amount of satisfaction, "could possibly be responsible for this. Not one of the people I know would be capable of torture transference through mind control! I have used this little tactic on my wayward son, Nicholas many times. But we have a constant and close mind link so there is no problem. But whoever is doing this does not have a mind link to Luke!"
"He does now, Lucien." Darius corrected his friend. "And perhaps you're forgetting the ancient rule. One does not have to have a clear link to establish one! However, I seem to remember someone. . . . .yes, Ithink. . . . . .come with me, Lucien. I think I may know who is doing this." Darius said rising from his chair and moving toward his study. He went to the large bookcase and took a large jeweled box from the bottom shelf. He opened the box and began to browse through its contents. He soon found a leather bound scroll and opened it to read. At the top of the scroll handwritten in latin said plainly, "Journal, 101AD Battle for Rome."
"Here it is, Lucien! I'm sure that this is your answer. Do you remember the battle we fought in Rome 101AD against the inherited vampires? Do you also remember the Elders talking about the futility of fighting this breed? And the one Elder who was very much against the inherited?" Darius said, still looking at the scroll.
Lacroix stood there with a puzzled look on his face for a minute, then he showed acknowledgement. "Yes, of course. Sextus! I remember. He was quite a handful to keep under control for all of us at the time. Divia despised him when she first met him and had trouble controlling him."
"Do you also remember what happened in Germany in the 1930's Lucien? And that little incident with the Enforcers?" Darius said, glancing up at his old friend.
Lacroix frowned at this. With a snarl he looked at Darius and said in a loud voice. "Of course I remember that! If I had not contacted the Enforcers, we all would have been destroyed by at least 100 humans. Sextus made sure that we were left open, vulnerable and easy targets for those humans. He could have destroyed all of us then." And as he spoke, a light came on in Lacroix's face. <So! Sextus is the one responsible. But how? He had no more knowledge of the occult or magic than he or Darius. And Darius, with his knowledge of history and cultures would be far more learned in these matters than Sextus.> He looked at Darius and said, "Ok, I know that Sextus blames us for not stopping the battle and for fighting with the inherited ones, but he could not possibly possess the power to begin with, let alone continue these attacks, Darius."
"Are you so sure of that Lucien?" Darius said dryly. "You did not follow Sextus as closely through the years as I have. I have seen what he is capable of doing. He has become a very learned and knowledgeable fellow in many of the black arts. His vampire powers are far more dangerous than you realize. And he too, is an Elder!"
"That may be true, but I will let him know in no uncertain terms that he had attacked the wrong family this time!" Lacroix snarled, moving toleave. Darius caught his arm and said,
"Whoa! Hold it Lucien. If you go off like this without thought, you will surely destroy your grandson. What is the matter with you? I have never known you to proceed in anything without carefully studying all alternatives." Darius looked at Lacroix who showed the expression of a child that had been thoroughly reprimanded. Then Darius continued. "You must find out what magical art Sextus is using and find the means to defend and attack against that art!" Let me go through the ancient manuals and check with my contacts. Let me help you, Lucien. Go back to your grandson and let me get the background information for you. Then when you have the proper tools, you can then strike back."
Lacroix smiled at Darius. "You have always been my most loyal and devoted friend, Darius. And I did forget to think this matter completely through. I have been preoccupied with what is being done to my grandson, I totally forgot myself. Forgive me, old friend. I will do as you say and try to shield Luke as best I can until I hear from you. Goodbye, Darius!"
Lacroix left and Darius stared out the open window of the balcony. <What kind of powers does Sextus posses now? What black arts has he learned? The Roman Devil will pay for this. Lucien is my friend and has been loyal to me for many centuries. If his family has been attacked then, I will do all I can to fight you. I must go to the Library of Alexandria and do some research. And I must hurry. For from what Lucien said, we may have very little time.>
Darius replaced the parchments and book back into the box and put the lid on. He placed it back on the shelves, and getting his coat, he left for the Library.
Knight's loft:Nick and Janette sat on the couch with Luke in between them. He was playing with a hand puppet, and watching the movie, 'The Sound of Music'. Luke had been very quiet for the past several weeks and seemed to always be sad. He would not stray very far away from his father or mother. If one of them got out of sight he would take the other's hand and find out where the missing parent was by dragging one to the other! It was getting a bit tiresome for Nick and Janette, so they stayed as close to each other as they could. But they also knew that they did it for Luke. He needed to know that both of them were there and that both of them would protect him. He needed them to be together as a family.
But every once in awhile, Luke would be like he used to be. Happy, and playful and a normal, healthy mortal child. Teasing and poking at his parents. Tonight had been one of those rare moments. He had begged his mother and father to rent 'The Sound of Music' so he could see the puppet show. Now on the large TV screen in front of him the von Trapp children were performing the puppet show for their father and his guests. This was his favorite scene and he knew all the words by heart. Luke was singing the tune with them as he worked his hand puppet in the same way the puppet was moving on the TV. He began to sing, "High on a hill was a lonely goatheard, Layee-o-dl Layee-o-dl Lay-ee-oo!" His yodel was so beautiful that Janette and Nick smiled at each other with approval. Luke pushed his puppet into his mother's face trying to get her to join in. Janette began to hum to Luke's approval. Then turning to his father he put the puppet up to his face and Nick began to hum as well. This pleased Luke and he danced his puppet back and forth, from mother to father. All were truly enjoying themselves. What a relief. Luke got up and reached down in the big box in front of the couch to get a prop for his puppet when. . . . .
Luke was suddenly picked up and thrown across the room, hitting the wall on the far side. The TV began to pop and crackle and suddenly exploded throwing Janette and Nick on the floor. They got up and started for Luke, but found themselves frozen and unable to move. Luke was again picked up and flung farther in the air, landing next to the fireplace with a thwump! This act was repeated several times, until he landed next to the stairs. Finally, hanging onto the railing for dear life, Luke looked at his parents and screamed, "Mommy, Daddy, Help me!"
Janette tried with all her might to get free, but something held her in place. She reached out her arms toward her son and cried, "Luke! Luke!" Nick was having the same problem. He did manage to advance a few steps, but was then stopped dead in his tracks. He reached out his arm and tired to extend it beyond its limits, in an effort to reach his son, but it was hopeless. Once again, Luke was ripped from the stair bannister and thrown toward the lift. He slammed against the door and fell to the floor unconscious. Janette screamed and Nick stared in disbelief.
In a flash, Lacroix crashed through one of the side windows and landed in front of the now unconscious Luke. With his fangs bared and his eyes glowing red, he yelled to an unseen force within the room. "Leave my family alone and never return, Oh Devil of Rome!" From out of nowhere a voice began to laugh. It began as a maniacal chuckle and then developed into hysterical laughter. It seemed to come from everywhere. Janette and Nick put their hands over their ears. Then, suddenly the laughter quit. And this crisis appeared to be over as well. Nick and Janette were free.
Lacroix turned and knelt down to the limp body of his grandson. He gently picked him up and brought him over to the couch. Janette reached for him and Lacroix deposited him into her arms. Janette sobbed, "Oh, my son! I failed you! I failed you!" And she pulled Luke closer to her body and wept in Luke's stretched out neck. Nick put his arm around his wife and pulled both Janette and Luke closer to him. He too had failed his son. And the guilt was almost unbearable.
Lacroix slowly went to the phone and called Dr. von Wellsung. As he dialed the number, Lacroix looked over at his children and began to wonder if any of them would survive this.
Chapter 6
Dr. von Wellsung's clinic:Luke was lying in a bed with an IV attached to his arm, and a cast on his left leg and arm. He was sleeping peacefully and looked like an angel to his parents. Janette was sitting on the bed beside Luke rubbing his check with her thumb. Nick was behind her with his hands on her shoulders looking at Luke with a concerned look on his face. Lacroix was standing by the door with Dr. von Wellsung.
"He has a concussion, a broken tibia/fibula and fractured collarbone. He really is very lucky to have survived the attack as well as he did! He is one lucky kid. Even for a vampire, it will take time for his body to heal. But he will heal must faster than a mortal child. In a few days he should be back to normal, physically. Mentally and emotionally, I am not sure." Dr. von Wellsung said. "Do you know who is responsible for these attacks?"
Lacroix looked at the doctor and simply said, "We're trying to find out, I assure you!"
"Well, you had better find out soon. Life can be snuffed out, even for immortals, if the right pressure is applied, if you catch my meaning." Dr. von Wellsung said, and then left the room.
Janette flinched at this last statement, and Nick tightened his grip on her to calm her down. Lacroix came over to the bed. He put his hand on Nick's shoulder. He spoke quietly, so as not to awaken Luke. "He is right, my son. And we are lucky he is one of us. Where else would we have been able to take Luke?"
Nick motioned for Lacroix to move away from where Janette was. Then he whispered to his master, "Father, what did you find out in Alexandria, and why did you call out the name of Roman Devil, after Luke was attacked?" Nick said, demanding an explanation.
"I think that we should go back to the Raven or your loft before we discuss this, Nicholas. I do not think that we should talk in front of Janette. She is upset enough as it is." Lacroix said to Nicholas, softly.
Nick looked up at Lacroix, both surprised and pleased at his thoughtfullness. "Thank you Lacroix, for that." Nick said smiling. Lacroix smiled back. Nick went over to Janette. She was still rubbing her hand softly on Luke's cheek. He knelt down beside her and put his hand in hers. "Janette, love. Lacroix and I need to talk." He said, looking into her dark blue eyes. "Will you be alright here alone, with Luke?"
"Yes, Nichola." She said softly, looking into his eyes. "But, please don't be gone too long. I am afraid for Luke and what if he would suffer another attack?"
"Somehow, I don't think he will while he is in her, Janette." Nick said quietly. "This monster waits until we are alone! You will be alright. Lacroix and I will not be long." He kissed her hand and got up to leave.
"Be careful, my love." Janette said as she watched her husband and Lacroix turn to leave.
"And you, too." Nick replied smiling as he and Lacroix left the clinic room.
Nick and Lacroix wound their way out of the clinic hallways and outside the building. Once outside, they looked around and then took to the air. Within minutes they were in the Loft. Nick went to the refrigerator and got out a couple of bottles. One with blood and one of just wine. He got a couple of glasses and poured the blood in one and handed it to Lacroix. Then he poured the wine into another glass and recorked the bottles, returning them to the refrigerator. They went to the couch and sat down. Nick turned to his master and said, "What did you find out in Alexandria, Lacroix?"
"I went there to talk to an old friend, Darius." Lacroix said. He is someone I knew as a mortal in Ancient Rome. He was the Keeper of the Histories in Rome and now is the Historian of the Library of Alexandria. He certainly has gone far in life, hasn't he?" Lacroix said with amusement.
But Nick didn't care what job this man had. He wanted information. "What did you find out, Lacroix?" He said again with an impatient voice.
"If you would stop interrupting me, Nicholas I will tell you." Lacroix said rather stiffly. "Anyway, Darius and I were talking and suddenly I remembered an old adversary. His name was Sextus. He was a soldier in one of my regiments and not a very good one at that. Oh, he was a very good fighter, make no mistake, but he was not good at taking orders, and he was certainly not loyal!"
Nick knew that this was a very sore spot for a Roman. In fact, it was a sore spot for any soldier. If a soldier was not loyal it could cause insurrmountable problems for the rest of the group. Betrayal is brought about by disloyalty, low morale usually followed and loss of life could be imminent. Nick should know. He had almost lost his life in the Crusades to just such a problem.
Lacroix continued, "Sextus was brought across sometime after I was. He took to the vampire life with zeal. He relished in the kill, which did not surprise me. But he was not careful. He always managed to cause more trouble for the rest of us. He would leave clues, making the mortals more suspicious than they already were." Lacroix got up and started to walk to the window. "But that is not when the real problems began. We suddenly became aware of the other breed of vampires. Ones that you, my son are a member of now. The inherited ones. They were acceptable in the beginning. But because they were older, they had a tendency to try to control the secondary vampires. All this led to the famous battle of 101AD!"
Nick had heard of this war. The inherited ones and the secondary vampires had fought for two years on who had the power. Although it ended in the acceptance of each other, the battle was fought as any other, with anger remaining on both sides, once it was over. It was a war that all vampires had heard of at one time or other. But what did this have to do with him, or his son?
"Yes, Lacroix, I know of that battle. And I know that it led to the acceptance of all vampires, the beginning of the Community and the Enforcers. But what does that have to do with Luke, Janette or me? Or the attacks on my son!" Nick said.
Lacroix turned to look at Nick. His eyes were gold now as he remembered. "That was only the beginning, Nicholas. Sextus never accepted the inherited ones. And he felt betrayed that we accepted them as sort of giving in. He fought them at every corner. And no matter what century we lived in, he was always at war with them. But there is another problem, and one of the reasons I think that Luke is involved. It was predicted that some day a great one would be born of vampire and human, that would put an end to the strife of the vampires. That one would be given the power to heal and kill. He would be an eventual leader of our race. Our people will look up to him for knowledge and power. Sextus fears the end of 'his race', the true vampires. I think that he believes that Luke is the leader spoken of prediciton and he must get rid of him in order for the true vampires to survive."
"Oh, Hell, Lacroix." Nick looked at Lacroix with an amazed and confused look on his face. "You don't really believe in that, do you?"
"I am not sure, my son." Lacroix said, turning again to gaze out the window. "But it is sort of an irony, is it not? You, a vampire, were able to give your seed to a mortal, Janette who conceived. A son was born of that union and had the power even in the womb to protect himself and those around him. He was able to communicate through the mind link while still in the womb. And he was able to empower you to give Janette the gift of inherited vampire, without killing her." Lacroix stopped and allowed Nick to soak in all that he had said. He walked over to the window and touched the glass.
Nick was speechless. <My son, a leader? He has much kindness and up till now has shown no fear. But a leader? And if he is the predicted leader, it could be that circumstances may dictate that Sextus believes it and will try to destroy him. Whatever the case, this Sextus must be stopped. But how?> Nick finally walked over to his father and said in a soft voice, "Father, we must stop Sextus. There must be a way to keep him from inflicting any more harm on my son, whether he is the predicted leader or not. There must be a way! Did you and Darius talk of this?"
"Yes, Nicholas. We had a long discussion about Sextus," Lacroix said, turning again to his son. "But for now, we must wait." And Lacroix put his hand up in a gestured motion for Nick to wait until he finished, and continued. "Until Darius can find a weapon to use against Sextus. He is a practioner of the black arts, and has always been. He has developed many skills over the centuries, and I believe is using the power of Qa-Re. If that is true, then we must find out what will defeat this power. I know this sounds a bit superstitious, and unbelievable, but I assure you my dear Nicholas, it is not. This is very real. For now the best we can do is to protect Luke in anyway we can."
"But you saw what happened tonight, Father!" Nick pleaded with Lacroix to listen to reason. "Janette and I, even with our powers, were unable to even get to Luke. How can we help him if we are powerless?"
"Perhaps, the greatest gift anyone has is love, my son." Lacroix said softly, stroking his son's hair. "And that is what you have for Luke. You must also remember, for his part, Luke is not without the ability to defend himself, somewhat. We must teach him to channel that power in the most positive way."
"But he is a small child, Lacroix. He couldn't possibly understand what we are trying to teach him." Nick said staring at his father.
"Can't he?" Lacroix said, raising an eyebrow. "You are sure of that, are you? I think Nicholas, that you underestimate the abilities and knowledge of Luke!" Lacroix smiled down at Nicholas who nodded agreeing that he may have misjudged his young son. And then walking toward the lift door he said, "Now, we must get back to the clinic, to Luke and Janette. Come." And they both left down the elevator, out the door, and into the night sky.
Chapter 7
Dr.von Wellsung's Clinic:When Nick returned to the clinic, Lacroix was not with him. The vampire master had a lot of thinking to do, and wanted to contact Darius to see if he had made any progress with the black arts. He told Nick to tell Luke, (if he was awake) to be brave and to always remember how much he loved him.
Nick came into the room and found Janette sitting next to the bed talking to Luke who was now awake. Luke's face brightened when he saw his father come into the room. He tried to reach out his arms to him but was prevented from doing so by the cast and the IV. He started to cry, but Nick came close to him and raised him up a bit to give him a big hug. "So you are awake, I see! How do you feel, Luke?"
"Everything hurts, Daddy!" Luke said, and Nick felt as though someone had driven a wooden stake right through his heart. "I know, son. I know." Nick said softly as he rubbed Luke's back and tried to comfort him. "But we heal very quickly and you will be feeling better very soon!"
Gently, Nick layed his son back on the bed and ran his fingers through his son's hair. "Luke you know that your mother and I love you very much. I know that we tried to help you and failed tonight. But we do love you. And we will always be there to help you. Do you understand?" He said, continuing to stroke his hair.
"That's right, Luke." Janette added as she watched Nick stroking Luke's hair. "Your father and I will never leave you and we will always love you."
Luke looked at his father and then at his mother and said very quietly, "I know that you tried to help, but you couldn't. That man is just too strong! Grandfather knows that." Then he looked straight at Nick and said, "But I will be a brave knight, Daddy and I will make you proud of me."
"Oh, Luke. I am proud of you!" Nick said smiling at Luke. "You have been very brave. And I know that whatever happens in the future, you will remember this time and it will help you to help others some day. Those who may have problems just like yours."
"Yes, Daddy. I will." Luke said. And Nick thought it funny that a mere child of six could understand something that complicated.
Suddenly a pleasant voice from behind them said, "Is there anyone here who likes ice cream?"
Nick and Janette looked toward the door and saw a nurse standing there, with a big bowl of chocolate ice cream on a tray. They smiled and looked at Luke, whose eyes got bigger and smiled at the offer. "I do!" he said loudly. "Please, may I have some?"
"Of course you may. And I was told," the nurse said as she winked at Nick and Janette, "by someone who I think knows, that you like chocolate best. Is that right?"
Luke beamed and said, "Yes, Ma'am. Its my favorite."
The nurse went over to the bed and pushed a button allowing the bed to rise to a sitting position. Then she placed the bowl on the table in front of Luke. Luke was grinning a toothy grin, then frowned. "But how am I gonna eat the ice cream? I can't move my arms." he said in frustration.
The nurse smiled, and moved the IV tubing and allowed Luke more freedom of movement, then said, "There, does that help?"
"It sure does, thank you." Luke said and began to devour the ice cream. The nurse began to laugh and then, with a smile at Nick and Janette she said, "I will bring in a cot for you to sleep on. I assume one of you is spending the night?"
"We both, will spend the night with Luke." Nick replied and said, "Thank you, a cot will be fine for my wife. I will sleep on the recliner." The nurse nodded and then left.
Janette and Nick smiled at Luke as he was obviously enjoying the ice cream. He soon had ice cream all over his mouth and face and looked like a clown. It was good to see him happy, if only for a short while. But they were determined to make the most of moments like these. Because now, they seemed so few and far between.
When Luke had finished, Janette asked him, "So, tell me Luke, was that good?"
Luke smiled at his mother and said, "Yes, Mommy, it was really yummy. Just like your icin. . .. ." and then his smile faded as he remembered his birthday, the attacks and all that had happened.
Janette went over to Luke and started to wipe his face with a cool wet cloth. "No! Luke! Try to forget what has happened. We must think only about now, and what is happening now!"
Luke started to cry again, but looked at Nick who gave him a smile and he straightened up and said, "Mommy, you don't need to worry about me. I won't be sad anymore. I will fight that bad man!" Then looking at his father, who smiled wider, he added. "And I will protect you too, Mommy!"
Janette hugged her son as best she could with the cast and the IV tubing in the way. She released him and looked into his beautiful blue eyes. "I know you will, my son. And I will always love you, Luke."
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