DISCLAIMER: I do not own the characters involved in this story, I am
just borrowing them and will (grudgingly) return them.

Permission is given to archive on fkfic2 and the ftp site.
This story will also be posted on my site. (second addy in sig)

Questions, comments, etc can be sent to
 nicolas_debrabant1228@yahoo.com

Note: Throughout this story I have spelled Nick's name as 'Nicolas'.
This is done on purpose since the entire story is from Janette's
point of view.  It would be pronounced like she does - "Nicola."

Dimming of the Day 01/01
by Amanda Berendt
Copyright Sept 2003

   Janette sat alone at the bar sipping her drink.  It would still be
at least an hour before the first patrons began arriving at The
Raven.  In her solitude, her thoughts turned to Nicolas.  When she
first heard he had come to Toronto, she had had hope they would
rekindle their relationship.  But those thoughts crumbled when he
came to see her at the club.  It had been all business.  Alas, when
it came to Nicolas, she could never harden her heart completely.
Every time he came in on some urgent police business, her heart would
quicken ever so slightly.

*This old house is falling down around my ears
 I'm drowning in a river of my tears
 When all my will is gone you hold me sway
 I need you at the dimming of the day*

   Nicolas was the light in her lifetime of darkness.  It was the
reason she had brought him to Lacroix so long ago.  But it was also
what so often caused the rift that divided them.  During the years
they were together, Nicolas was the one who would make her smile or
laugh at the simplest things.  He could so easily change her moods,
knowing just the right words to say to cheer her in a moment of
sadness or to calm her in a time of anger.

*You pull me like the moon pulls on the tide
 You know just where I keep my better side*

   But those times they spent together had grown shorter and farther
apart.  The light she had loved so much about Nicolas was driving a
wedge between them.  She knew, to him, she represented a past he was
trying so hard to escape.  And yet he would return to her.
   Her thoughts moved past the years to the time they spent together
in Venice.  They had been together nearly ninety years - far longer
than any mortal marriage would have lasted.  Although, Nicolas was
much more vocal regarding his feelings towards their separation, it
had broken her heart as well.  It often would end this way - with
anger, resentment and distrust.

*What days have come to keep us far apart
 A broken promise or a broken heart
 Now all the bonnie birds have wheeled away
 I need you at the dimming of the day*

   Through all these hundreds of years, one thing had remained
constant - Nicolas was the one she always wanted.  It pained her that
she would always have to be the one to end their time together, for
when they were apart she longed for him.  Even when they were not on
intimate terms, he would come to her and they would share their
thoughts.  She would let him speak his mind and not judge him as
would Lacroix or others in the community.  Although she did not share
his feelings, she would patiently let him vent his frustrations and
emotions he kept welled up inside.  She would give him the comfort
and sanctuary he always seemed to desire.

*Come the night you're only what I want
 Come the night you could be my confidant*

   But here in Toronto, it had changed.  In this new life he had made
for himself as Detective Nick Knight, he had distanced himself even
more from the community and even from her.  She had seen him many
times in the Raven with his partner, always regarding some case they
were working on.  She had also seen him with his new companion, Dr.
Natalie Lambert.  Janette knew she was helping Nicolas in his search
for a cure to his condition.  She also knew how much Nicolas cared
for this woman.  It was Natalie who he now confided in, laughed with
and shared his feelings with.  But Janette was not jealous of her.

*I see you on the street in company
 Why don't you come and ease your mind with me
 I'm living for the night we steal away
 I need you at the dimming of the day*

   After almost one thousand years, she had learned the graceful art
of patience.  She would let Nicolas have his time with Natalie with
no regrets.  When the inevitable time came to move on from this life,
or when Natalie grew old and died, it would be she that Nicolas would
again return to. Janette sipped from the glass she held in her hand.
The club was beginning to fill.  She no longer wondered when Nicolas
would come to see her.  She knew he would someday return and she
would wait.

 *I need you at the dimming of the day*

--Fin--