** No X-Files in this part.

Timeless (3/?)
by Elisa P. Black

  Schanke pulled Myra closer to him on the sofa where they sat watching a
movie.  Jenny was perched in an armchair on his other side.  Ahh, this is
the life, he thought.  Good family, good movie, good pizza, good
popcorn...  He reached into the bowl to find it empty. 
  "We need some more popcorn," whispered Myra.  "I'll be right back." 
  He nodded.  "There's a good part coming up soon.  I'll pause it for
you." 
  She smiled and gave him a kiss.  Then they caught sight of Jenny's
strange expression.  "What's wrong, honey?" 
  "Mommy, are you going to the kitchen?" 
  "Yes, to make some popcorn.  Why?" 
  "Don't go." 
  "Why not, hon?"  Myra approached her daughter as fear began to build in
her. 
  "I just feel like something's gonna happen." 
  "Like what?" 
  "Something bad.  Really bad." 
  "OK, how 'bout this, sweetie?" put in Schanke.  "I was gonna pause the
movie anyway, so why don't we all go to the kitchen together, all right?" 
  His daughter looked doubtful but nodded.  Schanke and Myra exchanged a
look of concern and they all proceeded to the kitchen. 

  She waited in the bushes by the darkened window, running completely on
instinct.  Her mind, left on its own, wandered into the first thing it
could think of.  She remembered... 
  Waking up in the darkness of her bedroom and she realized that she could
see everything more clearly than in the light.  That couldn't be right,
maybe she was dreaming.  Then she noticed that everything was tinged in
red even though her room was decorat ed in blue. 
  Strange feelings and thoughts ran through her, yet she couldn't quite
grasp them as if they were part of a dream which escaped upon her waking. 
They left behind a feeling of an outrageously dirty secret which gnawed at
her even as a ravenous hunger gna wed at every inch of her body and soul. 
Something horrendous had happened, but right now she didn't care; she had
to eat. 
  There was nothing in the kitchen; she had cleaned it out this afternoon
for a food drive and had planned to order out for the meantime.  The
hunger pangs hurt more than anything she'd ever experienced before as she
stumbled out into the empty hall and o nto the empty sidewalk.  She felt
weak as if she could die in her tracks yet felt a strange power straining
within her.  Too confused to care, she wondered where she could get some
food.  Maybe she could make it to the fast food restaurant on the corner
that she'd always passed by before... 
  A second later, she found herself at the door of the cheesy
establishment, though how she'd done it so fast, she didn't know.  As she
entered, a blast of smells came rushing at her.  Not the overpowering
grease she had always passed by, but something th ick and sweet she
couldn't quite place.  There weren't any lines so she got her order in no
time and settled in Non-smoking.  The unappetizing food stared at her,
mocking and disgusting. 
  And then a strong thumping came to her, like a heartbeat.  Melodic and
entrancing, it called to her.  She found herself moving smoothly into the
next booth beside a ten-year-old boy, grabbing him, pushing his head
aside, biting... 

  They twirled around together, lost in the moment and in each other,
secretly, for they felt the pressure of the world upon them.  Nick was
such a wonderful dancer that Nat wasn't sure if they were dancing or
floating; he seemed so lost to everything that she wouldn't be surprised
if it were the latter.  She felt absolutely giddy in the little bubble
they had made together, wanted it forever... 
  She looked up into his face--she hadn't realized it was so close, their
lips were practically touching--and she instinctively started to move
forward.  The love in his expression was a reflection of what she felt,
but then it turned to the damned guilt and he imperceptibly moved back. 
She looked away, trying to hide her disaapointment, but he knew; he was
feeling the same way.  The spell was broken. 
  Maybe she should tell him that she remembered everything around that
Valentine's Day, let him know that she didn't care about LaCroix and the
danger the old vampire posed.  That she believed love could overcome
anything, that time was ticking away for h er and she wanted her chance
before it was too late.  But she knew she wouldn't, at least not now,
because she believed that LaCroix *would* step in and have his way,
leaving Nick to feel even more guilty than he did now.  She couldn't do
that to him nor could she bear to break the fragile bubble they were
rebuilding in spite of themselves. 
  They were locked in their own reality, taking comfort in each other's
presence, each praying it would last forever.  And, as if God were on
their side, the dance seemed timeless to their troubled minds. 

	End of Part 3